Emotional Roller Coaster
by SVUCSIWTRDOOLluver
Summary: Story about a past few new episodes, starts with the one with "Gone Baby Gone" and some more for some other episodes. Some of the names I got wrong, and I apologize in advance. Chapter 20 is up, now COMPLETE, I don't own CSI: Miami. R&R please!
1. Changing Places, Always Risky

Chapter 1 for my new story, contains spoilers for "Gone Baby Gone" and it's twisted around a bit. Still no scenes between Calleigh and Horatio, now I'm just getting flat out mad, they've been in the same place, just not in the same scene. I don't think they've spoken to each other since the season began!! Enough of my rant, here's the story!!

--

"Hey, Calleigh, I'm gonna go back to the crime scene to check something out, would you mind going over to Rich Rodriguez's place for me?" Ryan said, passing by Calleigh in the ballistics lab.

"Sure thing, Ryan," Calleigh said, and Ryan smiled at her, saying,

"Thanks Calleigh, I owe you,"

"No problem. Now get, go, go!" She said shooing him out of her lab. He strode out, and Calleigh slipped out of her lab coat, hung it up and walked out, checking to make sure that she had her silver case, gun and badge. She drove to Rodriguez's place, and knocked on the door, getting no answer.

Then, she heard a baby cry, and it was a girl. She knew that Rodriguez had no family or any kids, so she thought that it had to be Sophie. If that wasn't probable cause, she would give up her badge. Quickly, she drew her gun and noiselessly opened the door. Carefully she stalked in, going slowly and thoroughly. Then, she heard Rich's voice trying to quiet a baby, and peeked in the doorway to the living room.

She stopped the baby, and it was indeed the missing Sophie.

"Freeze! Miami-Dade PD, step away from the baby and put your hands up!" Calleigh shouted, stepping into the doorway and bring her gun up to firing aim.

Rich spun around, intending to fight, but when he saw the gun in his face he complied, putting his hands in the air and stepping away from Sophie. He put his hands behind his neck and got down on his knees. Calleigh stepped towards him to cuff him and she heard the cocking of a gun from behind her. She spun around, bring her gun up and saw the photographer, Sophie's biological father standing there, a gun aimed at her. Before Calleigh could say anything, Rich tackled her, sending her gun spinning out of her hand as he pinned her to the ground. He dragged Calleigh to her feet and shoved her at Sophie.

"Look after her," Rich said sarcastically, and then walked out the door to confer with the photographer. Calleigh picked a crying Sophie up and hugged her tightly, checking for any wounds or bruises, but she couldn't find any.

"Shh, it's okay sweetheart, you're gonna be okay, I'll get you back to your mommy, don't you worry Sophie," Calleigh said soothingly, rocking her. It didn't help, so Calleigh bent her head and began singing softly,

"Hush a bye, don't you cry, go, to sleepy little baby, when you wake, you shall have, all the pretty little ponies, black and paint, dapples and grays, coach, and six a little horses, so hush a bye, don't you cry, go, to sleepy little baby,"

When she finished Sophie was sleeping quietly in her arms and Calleigh smiled, just as she heard Rich's voice, saying,

"Well, I'll be darned; I just got a good idea." She looked up and glared at him. He just smirked at her and said to the photographer,

"Go back to your place, I'll drop Sophie off when it's not crawling with cops, got it?"

"Yeah, got it." The photographer walked out, with one last tender glance at Sophie. Rich got on the phone with the buyer who wanted to buy Sophie.

"Yeah, listen, I've got a great deal for you." Rich said, and Calleigh could hear the other man saying,

"Oh really? What's that?"

"I've got a nanny for the baby too."

"That, might work out for me and my wife."

"Good. But it'll cost you."

"How much?"

"An extra half million."

"All right, I can do that."

"You can? You want her?"

"Yeah. Is she pretty?"

"Come on, Duke you're not thinking those dirty thoughts of yours, are you?" Rich laughed, shooting a glance at Calleigh.

"Yes, I very well am."

"Well, you'll just have to find out when you see her."

"I guess I will." The guy chuckled, and Calleigh got shivers down her spine. She calmed herself down, and then Rich hung up and strode in, grabbing Calleigh's arm so hard she was sure that it would leave bruises.

"C'mon, let's go." Rich said gruffly, dragging her outside to the car.

"Any funny business and you'll regret it." Rich growled when he climbed into the drivers seat.

"You won't kill me. I'm your ticket to half a million dollars, and Sophie is your ticket to the other half." Calleigh said sharply, and Rich glared at her, saying,

"Yeah, well, you'll still regret it. Maybe I'll just go after your precious team, or maybe your father."

"You wouldn't dare." Calleigh hissed at him, anger filling her voice.

"Don't tempt me honey," Rich said softly, intensely and grabbed her by the neck, growling,

"Don't tempt me." Calleigh shook herself free and sat back, still clutching Sophie, determined not to let any harm come to her.

She was prepared to protect Sophie no matter what.

--

Well, do ya like it??? Or maybe not??? I know I put it up late, but I just had a complete writer's block about what to write about. I came up with the idea, but then I lost it. Well, REVIEW and THANKS FOR READING!!!


	2. She Needed Help Badly

Chapter 2 is up, and I've decided to do some scenes from the newest episode, the one where the cop is the one who kills these women, but a victim's fiancé is the one who killed the other ones. Confusing, I know, but if you watched it, you'd understand. If you don't, might be a little confusing to you about names and stuff, but it might be okay. Enough of me, onto the story!!

--

Meanwhile, Horatio was interrogating the photographer in an interrogation room, and found out that Rich Rodriguez was hired by him to get Sophie back for him.

"I figured I could be a single dad, you know?" The photographer admitted, and when Horatio was silent, he continued, anger and bitterness in his voice,

"But when my lawyer told me, that the legal father of the baby was the wife's husband, I just snapped. I hired Rich to get Sophie, and I figured that I could just, go live with my sister, and it would all be okay. I didn't realize that he had hired two others, and then I figured out his plan."

"What plan?" Horatio asked, and the photographer said,

"He was never gonna give Sophie to me. He set up some buyers from South America, he was gonna sell Sophie to them! I was never, going to see her, after all I had done, it was all for nothing. Nothing." He said, his voice shrinking to a whisper.

Just then, Ryan burst in the door and said quickly, "Horatio, have you seen Calleigh?"

"The last time I saw her was in ballistics, why?"

"Well, she took my place, she went over to Rodriguez's place, and I went over there, and she's gone. I found stuff of Sophie's, and…" Ryan trailed off, fidgeting with his hands.

"What else, Mr. Wolfe?" Horatio inquired, and Ryan mumbled,

"I found some long blonde hairs. They're Calleigh's."

"Blonde?" The photographer said, a look of realization dawning on his face.

"Yes, blonde, medium height, Mr. Wolfe, get me a picture of Calleigh." Horatio demanded, spinning back around to face the photographer. Ryan scurried out and came scrambling back with a picture. He shoved it in front of the photographer and the photographer's face drained of his color and he whispered,

"She's, she's a cop?"

"She is a CSI, her name is Detective Calleigh Duquesne." Horatio said, his voice smoldering.

"Um, I know that she's kidnapped," The photographer mumbled, and Horatio grabbed him by his collar and said,

"By who?"

"Rodriguez." The photographer mumbled, and Horatio let him go.

"Do you know where he was taking her and Sophie?"

"I don't have a clue, I swear!" He said earnestly, and Horatio looked at him with disgust before he bent down, saying in a deadly whisper,

"If I do not find my CSI, this will by your last week on earth." The photographer shivered as Horatio strode out, saying to Ryan,

"Let's get our Calleigh back, Mr. Wolfe."

"Yeah, let's do that, H." Ryan said, and followed him back to the lab, where they alerted Eric, Natalia, Frank and Tara about Calleigh's kidnapping. The lab went into 'find missing person' mode, and a few hours passed before a shout from the AV lab had Horatio and Ryan striding there. Eric and Natalia stood there, their fists raised in triumph and grins on their faces. Horatio cleared his throat and they spun around, and Natalia was the first to speak.

"Horatio, we found out when,"

"And where," Eric interjected, and Natalia finished,

"Rodriguez is planning to sell Sophie and Calleigh at."

"Good. Give me the location, call Frank and meet me there with a bus and backup, got it?" Horatio said, and Natalia handed the location to Horatio and he strode out, calling over his shoulder,

"This is it. Let's get Calleigh back." The team scurried off while Horatio hopped into his Hummer, speeding along the streets of Miami, attempting to make a rescue.

A rescue of his CSI and a baby.

--

Meanwhile, Calleigh had stayed awake and alert, trying to figure out where they were. Finally, Rodriguez pulled up in the airport and Calleigh realized that they were at Miami International. She reached for the door handle, but found it locked. Biting her lip she looked frantically for a way out while a plane slowly descended towards the landing strip. Rodriguez slipped out, and welcomed the couple that stepped out of the plane with a warm greeting. Then, he went to open the door and the woman exclaimed,

"Aw, how adorable! She is perfect." She declared, turning to her husband.

"And where is the nanny?" The man said, an undertone in his voice that made his intentions clear.

"Right here." Rodriguez said, opening the other door and dragging Calleigh out. The man's eyes lit up with want and it made Calleigh want to slap him. She managed to restrain herself, and was praying to God that Horatio would get there soon.

"Um, let me go, check her out." The man grinned, and grabbed Calleigh's arm. He dragged her to the plane parking house, and threw her up against the wall.

Hungrily he kissed her, and then made his way down her jaw and neck; all the while she was fighting him off, beating him with her fists. He trapped her wrists with an iron-grip from his hands, and still she squirmed, trying desperately to get away.

Finally, he slapped her across her cheek, and it stunned her into not-moving. She hung limp, and in her mind she went to a different place, she went back to her beloved guns in the firing range, and pretended that she was firing bullet after bullet into the unknown man that was trying to rape her. There, she admitted it, that's what he was trying to do.

And that was what he was going to do unless she got some help. Strong Calleigh Duquesne finally admitted it. She needed help. Badly.

--

I hope you liked it, and I hope you liked the cliff-hanger! REVIEW and THANKS FOR READING!!!


	3. Friends Again

Chapter 3 is up!! Last chapter for "Gone Baby Gone" Next chapter'll have scenes and stuff based on the episode from November 24th, I don't know the name. Well, I actually don't have anything else to say, so here's the story!!! ENJOY!!!

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His hands traveled all over her body while Calleigh floated away in her mind, doing what countless victims did: pretend they were somewhere else. She felt something, and then heard a siren, and she knew that help had arrived. From somewhere deep down Calleigh summoned all of her courage, and said,

"I am a cop, Miami-Dade PD, step away from me now!" Calleigh was surprised to hear her voice not tremble, and the man froze, stepping away from her and saying,

"I meant nothing, miss, I thought you were, someone else,"

"Like hell you did." She hissed, pulling her clothes back on and then dashing out, seeing Horatio's hummer speeding down the runway. She dashed down the runway, and leapt into the car just as it took off, Rich trying to get away. She grabbed a hold of Sophie and held her tightly, cushioning the impacts the car made as it tried to get away.

Finally, the car was faced with an obstacle: a plane right in front of them. Calleigh screamed in Rich's ear, and he swerved away from the plane, making the car flip over quite a few times. Calleigh was tossed and bounced around, and she flashed back to when her Hummer went underwater. She shook her head and snapped out of it, remembering that she had a baby to protect. She hugged Sophie tight, and then, just as soon as the rolls started, they stopped. Calleigh lay completely still for a moment, and then heard Rich crawl out of the car, and heard a shot from Horatio's gun, which meant that Rich was probably dead. Calleigh, desperate to get Sophie to safety, shoved her as far out as she could, and tried to climb out of the other side.

--

Horatio knelt down and found Sophie, unhurt but crying. He scooped her up, and shrugged his jacket off, wrapping it around Sophie, shielding her from the heat of the car and the smoke. He held her tightly in his arms and walked out of the smoke as he could hear the sirens that meant backup. He kissed the top of Sophie's head and kept walking, far away from the fire. Just then, he flashed back a moment, remembering seeing a blonde woman running to the car and jumping in it.

"Calleigh," He breathed, turning around to see the car burst into flames.

"No," He whispered, and then saw a figure stumble out of the smoke, hacking and trying to brush the hair from its face.

With a start he realized that the figure was Calleigh. He rushed to her side after handing Sophie to a medic. He draped his jacket over her shoulders and she looked up, coughing and managed to say,

"Thanks, Horatio,"

"Shhh, don't talk, it's all right," He said, putting an arm around her waist to help her walk. She stumbled a few times, but Horatio held her upright. He stayed with her while a medic ran up, but she waved him off, saying,

"Check on, Sophie, please Horatio," He glanced at her and then jogged off to find Sophie, and then gave her back to her mother. He strode back over to the medic and found Calleigh still there.

"Hey." He said, and she half-smiled at him, looking up and clutching her blanket tighter to her and said,

"Hey."

"You okay?"

"I'll be all right." She said, and then added,

"They said all the smoke is out of my system, so that's a plus, I suppose."

"Yes, that's a good thing." Horatio mused, and went over to talk to the medic, who told him that she was fine, physically, but the medic thought that there was something wrong emotionally, since Calleigh was distant. Horatio thanked the medic and walked over to Calleigh, saying,

"You ready to go home, ma'am?"

"Yes, I am. Can I?"

"Yes, but on one condition."

"What?" Calleigh asked suspiciously, standing up and looking him in the eyes.

"You have to let me drive you."

"Well, all right." She conceded.

He was surprised at how easily that she gave in, and put his hand on the small of her back, guiding her to his Hummer. She still had his jacket around her shoulders, but he didn't care and she didn't seem to realize it. He helped her into the car and then jogged over to his side. He hopped in and began the lengthy drive to Calleigh's place. She was silent, leaning against the door and staring off into the distance. Her symptoms reminded him of something, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. Finally, he said,

"Calleigh, are you sure you're all right?"

"I am fine, Horatio, really," She said quietly, and Horatio decided to not beat around the bush anymore.

"Calleigh, what happened when you were kidnapped?""

Calleigh opened her mouth and told him the whole story, leaving out the fact that she had come so, so very close to being raped. He could sense a huge hole in her story, but didn't question it. He figured that she would tell him when she was ready. He pulled up and she reached for the door when she froze for a moment.

"What is it, Calleigh?" Horatio asked gently, and Calleigh smiled at him sheepishly and said,

"I forgot I was wearing your jacket." She slid it off and handed it to him.

"Thank you." He said quietly, taking it, but not letting her let go of it. He looked her straight in the eyes and she smiled at him. He knew she would tell him eventually, and he took the jacket. She put a hand on his shoulder, saying,

"Thank you, Horatio,"

"For what?"

"For everything." He smiled at her, she smiled back.

They were friends again, and almost everything was right with the world.

Almost. Unknown to them the man from the tarmac, the one that had tried to rape Catherine watched them from a Jeep next door. When Calleigh slipped inside her house, the Jeep roared to life and sped away, while the Hummer stayed in the driveway for a minute or so and then slowly backed out, and going down the road in an opposite direction and about half as fast.

Not everything was right with the world. Not by a long shot.

--

Well, that's it for "Gone Baby Gone" and now it's time for the mystery episode from November 24th!! It'll be up soon, if you REVIEW!! Thanks for reading!!! Oh yeah, and thanks to black-dehlia75 for the idea of Calleigh getting kidnapped again, and I think I'm going to use it, so thanks a million!!! Adios for now!!!


	4. The Doctor Always Knows

This story is based on episode from Monday, November 24, and it's gonna have at least three chapter, if not more. ENJOY!!!

--

The next day, work went back to normal and Calleigh insisted on coming to work, as her doctor had given her a clean bill of health, and that was something that Horatio technically couldn't argue with. They catch a case, and work it, according to procedure. Eventually they come to the conclusion that a cop, called Reggie killed some of the women. Horatio sits in interrogation with Reggie, waiting for him to confess.

Horatio's face is sad as he listens to Reggie tell about how he became the one thing he hunted and hated: a murderer. He understands Reggie's pain, and disbelief, but still, he knows that what Reggie did was wrong and that that behavior cannot be condoned, but still. Then, the officer comes in the book Reggie, and he gets up to go willingly and cooperatively. Just as he's about to leave, Horatio says,

"Reggie." In his tone that asks him if he's going to be all right.

"I'll be all right, Lieutenant." Reggie says softly, and then starts to walk out, but then turns back and adds, regret and remorse in his voice,

"And tell Ms. Duquesne that I am really sorry,"

"Sorry for what?" Horatio inquires in his smoldering voice.

"For, for what I did to her."

"And what, did you do, to my CSI?" Horatio asks, taking a step closer to him, looking him straight in the eye and using his eyes to convey his emotions.

"You'll have to ask her. If she wants you to know, she'll tell you. But it's not coming from me." Reggie says in a regretful voice, but wary all the same.

"Why won't you tell me?" Horatio asks, still staring him straight in the eyes.

"Hah," Reggie scoffs, "I know her reputation as 'Bullet Girl' and there is no way I'll cross her."

Horatio is silent and Reggie is led out of the room, but adds one thing before being led away,

"Tell her for me, will you? She just looked really scared."

"Sure, I'll tell her Reggie."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." Horatio says, and when Reggie is out of his sight he takes his sunglasses out and slips them on, striding out, intent and hell-bent of finding his CSI and getting the truth.

Because, after all, that was what Lieutenant Horatio Caine did the best.

--

Meanwhile…

--

Calleigh slipped down to the tranquility of the locker room and sat on the bench, leaning her forehead against it, the coolness of the metal calming her jumpy nerves. She groaned when she remembered the way she had jumped and had almost hit the ceiling when Tara came up to her with the autopsy results. Tara had been startled herself, but when she had questioned Calleigh, she shut up tighter than a clam, and Tara let it go, though she was suspicious and was going to talk to Horatio later. Calleigh shut that out from her mind when she heard familiar footsteps and sighed, knowing that it was Horatio. She stood up, grabbed her coat and prepared to make a hasty retreat. She had been avoiding Horatio as of late, because she just didn't feel very comfortable around him, ever since Jake had left. No, actually, it was ever since he had faked his death, which was a touchy subject around the lab, especially with her and Eric, as they were the ones deeply hurt by it.

But then, Calleigh heard a welcome distraction for Horatio, by the name of Tara Price.

"Lieutenant!" Tara called, spotting him down the hall. Horatio sighed, knowing that any attempt to see Calleigh alone in the locker room was foiled.

"I need to talk to you,"

"About what?"

"About Calleigh." That got his attention.

"What about Calleigh?" He said, aiming his full attention on her.

"She seemed really, really jumpy earlier, and I saw her acting odd early on, but I didn't think anything of it. Her reactions and symptoms are similar to something I've seen before, but I'm not quite sure of what it is." _Actually, I know but I'm not going to tell you until I can have a talk with Calleigh. Sorry Horatio._ She thought, but didn't say.

"All right, get back to me on that, will you?"

"Sure. Goodnight, Lieutenant."

"It's Horatio, and goodnight, Dr. Price."

"It's Tara." They smiled at each other and then Horatio went off in pursuit of Calleigh, who had listened to the conversation and then fled when she had the chance.

Calleigh was now speeding along the streets of Miami, heading home where she could try to escape the cold reality of the world for the rest of the night. However, that was not meant to be as her phone rang several times. She eventually unplugged it, and then turned her cell off, knowing that she was not on call that night. Eventually, she lay down on her bed, closed her eyes and drifted off into an uneasy sleep, knowing and anticipating what her dreams would hold that night: the same thing they had held ever since 'the incident' which was Calleigh called it in her mind, and no one knew of it's existence except her, a person she refused to speak of and possibly Tara, who might have guessed it, and based on her conversation with Horatio, she had a good idea of what had happened to Calleigh.

That was something that Calleigh definitely didn't want to think about, so she drifted off to sleep, having the same nightmare, awaking screaming and in a sweat in her bed and sitting bolt upright in her bed, stark terror in her eyes. She got up, shaking, and took a long shower before watching TV to keep herself from going to sleep just like the past few nights. And then in the morning she went to work, using makeup to hide the dark circles under her eyes.

Only one person noticed, and that person was by the name of Tara Price.

--

Not a very good ending, but I hope you liked it!! I'm probably going to have Calleigh and Tara becoming best buddies, or something like that. Let me know what ya think, and REVIEW!!! Thanks for reading!!!


	5. Spilling The Truth

Chapter 5 is up!!! ENJOY!!!

--

The next morning, Calleigh rolled out of bed after a restless night of sleep. She made it to work and discovered that she was early. Not wanting to meet up with Horatio, not just yet she made her way to the range. She was surprised to hear shots going off. Calleigh slipped in and saw Tara shooting in the range. When Tara paused to reload Calleigh tapped her on the shoulder. She spun around and took off her ear protection.

"Hey Tara, I didn't know you liked to shoot." Calleigh said, and Tara replied,

"Yeah, I'm good. I love to shoot; it's like my second home here in the range."

"Hey, me too! Wanna have a contest?"

"Sure. I want to see if Bullet Girl still has her reputation."

"Bet on it, Tara." Calleigh said, and then made her way to the other booth and loaded up her gun.

She and Tara started at the same time and Calleigh got perfect scores for all of the three rounds, while Tara came kind of close. When it was over, Tara shook Calleigh's hand and said,

"Wow, they weren't kidding when the lab people called you Bullet Girl."

"Thanks." Calleigh said, blushing.

"Sorry to burst the happy bubble we've got going here, but, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, shoot." Calleigh said, and Tara said,

"Calleigh, were you assaulted a week ago or so?"

"Wha, what?" Calleigh asked, almost completely speechless.

"You know what I asked."

"Can, can we go somewhere else if I told you I'd answer?"

"Sure, let's go, uh, let's just get out of here, all right? I'll tell Horatio." Tara suggested, and Calleigh nodded eagerly.

"I'll be in my Hummer, just come out when you finish talking to him."

"Sure, no problem." They went their separate ways, and then Calleigh went to her Hummer and Tara went to find Horatio.

"Horatio!"

"Tara." Horatio said, turning around to face her.

"Calleigh and I are taking off for about a half day, maybe a whole one. Do you mind?"

"No, go ahead. You both deserve some time off, after this week."

"If we do, so does everyone else here, but thanks Horatio."

"You're welcome. Now get out of here before I change my mind, okay?"

"Okay. See you." She turned and walked out, going to meet Calleigh. Horatio watched her go, hoping that she would be able to help Calleigh where she wouldn't let him help her.

Because, if he really wanted to admit it, he was very concerned about Calleigh. It was just his nature. But right then he couldn't follow and obey his nature, as he had a crime scene to go to.

--

Tara and Calleigh went to a local coffee shop that almost no one went to. As Calleigh sipped her double chocolate mocha and Tara sipped her almond cappuccino sun shone through the windows into the quaint coffee shop.

"So, are you going to answer?" Tara asked quietly, studying her cup.

"As long as you don't tell anyone else." Calleigh said softly, and Tara nodded, reaching over to grasp Calleigh's hand.

"Calleigh, please, trust me. I may not be perfect, but I will be loyal to you."

"Thanks. Sometimes it's good to have more than one loyal friend. Who is not male." Calleigh said, and Tara laughed.

"Yeah, Natalia and I have become pretty good friends."

"Yeah, me and Natalia are pretty close, I mean, we all have to be, we're the only sensible ones in the lab!" Calleigh replied, and Tara smiled, raising one of her eyebrows.

"Well, we're the only women in there, aren't we?"

"That we are," Tara laughed, and then got serious as she waited for Calleigh to speak.

"Would you mind terribly if we went to the beach? I'm not stalling, it's just, the beach is comforting to me, you know?"

"Yeah, like the mountains are to me." Tara sighed, and got up. They strolled on the beach and Calleigh quietly told her story.

"When I was kidnapped, I heard Rich asking the person buying Sophie for another half a million. I found out why when he told the other guy that he had a nanny for Sophie. I heard what to other guy said, asking him if I was pretty. Rich laughed, and called the guy Duke. He asked him if he was thinking those dirty thoughts again, and the other guy laughed. I figured, heck, I was a cop, if worse came to worse I could always fight Duke off of me."

"Is that all?" Tara asked, not judging her in the slightest.

"No." Calleigh sighed, took one last sip of her mocha and then continued.

"When we got to the airport, this was before Horatio got there by the way, we saw the couple. When Duke saw me, he muttered something about 'testing me out' I think, and dragged me over to an abandoned building. He began assaulting me, and despite my earlier thoughts I was paralyzed. I fought in the beginning, but then he overpowered me. I couldn't believe it. I just floated away in my mind, desperately wishing to be someplace else than where I was. Then, I heard sirens and it jerked me back to myself, that I was a cop. That's what I told Duke, and he backed off. I raced out, and got in Rich's car to grab Sophie. I guess you know the rest."

"The rest is history." Tara quipped, but saw the change in Calleigh's face and said softly, "That's not all is it?"

"No." Calleigh said, tossing her cup in a garbage can. She took a deep breath and continued,

"When we had that case that Eric suggested that Reggie was the killer, I got on the elevator with him. He began talking to me about the case, and the next thing I knew he had his hand over my head, leaning into me. I couldn't help myself; I started flashing back to when Duke attacked me in the airport. I stopped moving, I think I stop breathing, and my brain just wouldn't work. He told me that I should fabricate evidence, and then he grabbed my waist, trying to put emphasis to his words, I suppose, and I just snapped. I smacked him across the face and my hand went to my gun. I was terrified, and Reggie could see that. He got out of the elevator, and I rode back down to the range. Now the rest is history." Calleigh said, trying to keep the brimming tears in her eyes at bay.

Tara simply laid a hand on her shoulder, bringing comfort to her in silence. Little did they know a man they all called Duke was watching them, saying, to himself,

"Only a little while longer before I have my little blonde haired angel."

--

I don't remember if they said who the guy's name was the one who wanted to buy Sophie, I don't think they did. Ah well, 'cause now it's Duke, like the dog in one of my history books. Thanks for reading, and the next chapter'll have spoilers from the episode from the 8th of December, where Eric is staying in a hotel room and gets shot at, and figures out a big part from his past has come back to haunt him. Won't say anything more for the people who didn't get to watch it. Adios for now, and thanks for reading!!!


	6. Learning To Trust Again

Chapter 6 is up!!! ENJOY!!! (Spoilers for episode from December 8th, where Eric is in that hotel and gets shot at, and they reveal a secret about Eric. Can't remember the name, but there are some spoilers!!!)

--

Calleigh muttered thanks to Tara for the support and shoulder to lean on, and got in her Hummer to help with the crime scene. It took the team a while, but they finally solved the case and filed it in their files as solved.

But, Calleigh still had one more thing to do before she went home. There was a bunch of money that was hidden in the apartment of a couple, and the guy had found it, thinking that he could support his pregnant wife. But then, the guy who owned it stole it back, and his wife was now owner to it. Calleigh had called her on it, and the woman said that it was hers.

Calleigh got her to change her mind.

She drove back to the motel, and met up with the widow. She smiled when she handed her the bag full of money, telling her that there were no strings attached. The woman was almost giddy with joy, as now she could support her baby. She thanked Calleigh repeatedly, and then Calleigh smiled and nodded. She walked back to her car, unaware that two men were watching her, one with good intentions and one with bad intentions. She slid the key into the ignition and that's when it all hit her like a ton of bricks.

The past few days came crashing back to her emotionally, and Calleigh just collapsed under the pressure. She folded in on herself, drawing her knees up to her chest and burying her face in her knees. She began sobbing in the dry, hopeless way that could only come from deep trauma, usually emotionally. She suddenly was aware of the Hummer door opening. Her hand automatically went for her gun as she looked over, her vision a bit blurry from her tears. She saw the red-hair of Lieutenant Horatio Caine and turned her face away, muttering,

"Go away, Horatio."

"I can't do that, Calleigh." He said, stepping closer to her.

"Why not?"

"Because, because I care about you too much to let you suffer alone and in silence." He said, stepping close to her. She still didn't look at him, and he implored,

"Calleigh, sweetheart look at me." She did, and he could see the tears covering her cheeks. With gentle hands he wiped them away, and framed her face with his hands when he had finished.

"Will you let me help you?" He asked quietly, and she shook her head defiantly, tears streaming down her cheeks. She tore her face away from his hands and reburied it in her hands.

"Just, let me deal with this, please," She begged him, and with a set jaw he said,

"No, Calleigh, because you're not dealing with it."

"Am too."

"Are not."

"Am too."

"I am not going to argue with you, Calleigh," Horatio said, and Calleigh felt arms wrapping around her and pulling her from the car. She curled instinctively into his chest as he carried her to the passenger seat and put her in. He then jogged back over to the driver's seat, got in and drove to Calleigh's place. When he pulled up, Calleigh slipped out of the Hummer and opened her door, walking quickly to her bedroom and slamming the door. He could hear her going to pieces in her room, and ran his fingers through his hands in frustration. Just then, his cell rang.

"Horatio, it's Tara."

"Yes, what can I do for you?"

"I just finished talking with Calleigh,"

"That's good. That's good, but you won't tell me what she said, will you?"

"No, Horatio, I'm sorry. You'll have to find out from her, not me. What I will tell you is that, you need to get her talking soon, or she'll have a complete mental breakdown. Either that or a complete nervous breakdown."

"How do you think I can do that?" He asked, the frustration mounting in his tone.

"Get her to trust again, Horatio, any sense of safety that she had is gone now, help her rebuild trust and faith in people." Tara said quietly, and hung up. Horatio slipped the phone back in his pocket and walked over to Calleigh's door. Knocking on it softly he said,

"Calleigh, sweetheart, let me in, please." When he didn't get an answer, he added softly, "You can trust me, I swear." With that the lock turned and Horatio stepped in. He saw her curled up on her bed, her face buried in her pillow. Horatio walked over to her and carefully loosed the pillow from her vise-like grip. He laid down next to her so he could look her in the face and grabbed her hand gently, squeezing it and saying,

"I'm here for you, Calleigh. You don't have to talk, just trust me, okay?" She nodded, grateful that he wasn't pushing her at all.

An hour passed, and Calleigh took a deep breath.

"Horatio, just promise me one thing."

"What's that?"

"Hear me out, and when I'm done, don't just get up and walk away like you sometimes do. You're going to be mad, I know, and I don't want you doing anything too irrational. Please?" She said, looking him straight in the eyes. Horatio almost laughed, she knew him way too well.

"Fair enough." He agreed, and she bit her lip before going quietly into her story. As she told her story, Horatio listened with growing fury.

--

Meanwhile, when Calleigh was sitting in her Hummer, Duke was watching her. He had called in some favors and now had at least five gang members helping him in his plan to get the one who got away back. He and a few others were watching Calleigh in her Hummer, and they prepared themselves to go and grab her. They figured that it would be easy, she was vulnerable and it would be a piece of cake.

But, as they started to sneak towards her, a man came striding around the corner, and Duke caught sight of his badge and gun. He shoved the men back into the hiding place as they watched the red haired man open the door. After some conversation with their target, the blonde, Duke watched in disgust as the man picked up his woman was carried her to the passenger seat, and then got in the drivers seat. He spat in the direction of the man as the Hummer drove off.

But he didn't worry. There would be other opportunities to get his woman back. It was just too bad now, though. He would have to kill the red head for touching his woman. _Ah well, that's life_, Duke thought.

--

The end! (JK, JK!) Definitely more to come! Thanks for reading, and to all the people who gave me ideas in their reviews, y'all are awesome!! (Actually, anyone who reviews is awesome!!!) I hope you liked it, and adios for now!!!


	7. Nightmare Night

Chapter 7 is up!!! ENJOY!!

--

When Calleigh finished her tale, Horatio got up and strode to the door before he remembered his promise to Calleigh, that he wouldn't leave. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to cool his anger. It didn't work. He clenched his jaw as mental images took over his brain, images of Calleigh getting hurt, being scared and breaking down. Suddenly, he felt a warm hand on his shoulder and, as if by magic, all the anger drained out of his body. He looked over his shoulder to see a pair of green eyes looking at him, shining with unshed tears. Horatio almost slapped himself, here he was thinking about revenge when Calleigh had just confessed the one thing that he knew she hated to remember and now she just needed some support, not angry revenge.

"Come here." He said quietly, and she slipped her arms around his waist, while he rested his arms on her shoulders, squeezing to let her know that she wasn't alone. "Why didn't you tell anyone sooner, Calleigh?" He asked softly, and she stiffened in his arms. She tried to draw back, but his arms stayed locked around her shoulders.

"I, I just," Calleigh began, and then swallowed hard, her voice trembling as she said, "I didn't want anyone's pity, I'm supposed to be strong, Horatio, and I just didn't want anyone to, think less of me." Horatio finally relaxed his grip on her shoulders and let her draw back, but not far. He looked her straight in the eyes with disbelief in his blue eyes.

"No one would think less of you, Calleigh," He said, disbelief in his voice.

"The team wouldn't, not exactly," She agreed, but suddenly she pushed out of his arms and walked away, hugging herself. "But, whenever I would walk by in the hall, if I told them, they would look at me and ask me if I'm okay all the time, and they wouldn't leave me alone, and I just…" Her voice failed her as tears threatened. She blinked them back furiously and jammed her hands to her eyes and mouth to stop a sob from breaking free.

She felt hands on her shoulders and all it took was a whisper from Horatio,

"Sweetheart, you're not alone. I'm here for you."

A sob tore from her throat as the tears broke free from her eyes. Her frame wracked with another sob and she tried to stand on her own, but Horatio's hands turned her to face him and one of his hands pressed her face into his chest. His other arm held her up and held her to him, as she let herself be comforted. Through her own personal hell she heard Horatio murmur over and over,

"It's going to be okay, Calleigh, I'm not leaving. I'm still here, and I'm not going anywhere. Cry it out, sweetheart; it's going to be okay,"

She felt her sobs quiet to whispers as her tears drained from her eyes and this time her eyes stayed dry. Her hands came up to her face and wiped the remainder of the tears away while Horatio kept holding her. She took a shaky breath and Horatio gently released her. She pushed her hair back and muttered,

"Thanks. I obviously needed that breakdown." Horatio's hand caught her chin and looked her in the eyes, saying,

"There is absolutely no need to thank me. I didn't lie, Calleigh, I'm here for you." She nodded and tried to smile. He twitched a smile at her in turn and then said, "It's late, you should be asleep."

"Shoulda, coulda, woulda," She muttered, and he chuckled.

"Bedtime, Bullet Girl." She laughed at her nickname and he said,

"There that Calleigh laugh I've missed." She smiled shyly at him and then fear came into her eyes.

"What is it, sweetheart?" He asked, concern leaking into his tone. She bit her lip before saying,

"Would you stay?" He considered it, and she rushed into saying, "I just, I want to feel safe for just one night, and, well, you make me feel safe," She confessed, and ducked her head. His hand once again made her look at him and said quietly,

"I'll stay, Calleigh, it's okay." She nodded, and said,

"I've got the spare bedroom good to go…" He nodded and looked pointedly at her bedroom. She sighed and nodded. Impulsively she leaned over and kissed his cheek. He touched his cheek and looked at her curiously.

"It's a southern thing; kiss on the cheek equals extreme gratefulness, or something like that." She said, shrugging. He nodded, and she turned to walk down the hall, saying quietly, "Night, Horatio, and thanks again."

"Goodnight, Calleigh, and stop thanking me. I'm your friend, that's what friends do." She nodded and slipped into her bedroom with a small wave. Horatio got comfortable on the spare bed and soon was slipping off into sleep when he heard a scream. He sat bolt upright in bed and heard the scream again, shriller this time. His blood ran cold, as it was the scream of Calleigh Duquesne. He yanked the covers out of the way and dashed down the hallway to her door and quickly opened it. Calleigh was tossing and turning on her bed, screaming and crying in her sleep. As he got closer to her, he heard her mumble,

"No, leave me alone, no!"

He shook her shoulder and said urgently,

"Calleigh, wake up, sweetheart, it's me, Horatio, you're safe, just wake up," Suddenly, Calleigh was still and her eyes snapped open, the green clouded with stark terror. She sat bolt upright, clutching the covers to her frame.

"Sweetheart, it's Horatio, you're safe, I promise," He said gently, holding out his hand like he would to a victim. Only he noticed that his hand was trembling, as this was his friend, his best friend, his best friend that just happened to be a victim. Calleigh's eyes found his and he held her gaze, although he was shaking inside from seeing the strongest woman he had ever known break into a million pieces. He had seen countless people break, but seeing Calleigh Duquesne break down, right in front of him, well, that was heart-breaking, to say the least. Calleigh recognized Horatio and closed her eyes, taking a few deep, calming breaths. Her hand snaked out and found his, gripping it tightly. Without another word he pulled her into a tight embrace, his voice rough with emotion when he said,

"Calleigh, are you okay?"

"Yeah," She muttered, and opened her mouth. Horatio knew that she was going to apologize, and he said sharply,

"Don't even think about trying to apologize, Calleigh, it's perfectly understandable for you to have nightmares. If you didn't, I'd start to think that you're not all human." He felt her freeze, and said soothingly, "I'm sorry, Calleigh, I didn't mean to snap."

"It's okay." She muttered, and eased back from his comforting arms. He went to go back to his bedroom when her hand gripped his arm and he looked back at her. With her lip trembling she said haltingly,

"Would you stay, with me, please? I really don't want to have another nightmare." His eyes searched hers for a moment, and then he nodded. He sat down next to her and she scooted over to let him lay down, which he did with a groan.

"Long day, Lieutenant?" She teased, and he nodded.

"Night, Calleigh,"

"Goodnight, Horatio," She said, and snuggled down into her pillow. As they both fell asleep, Calleigh's right hand slid over to the space between them. Horatio knew this and gripped her hand with his left one. They both fell asleep, and slept soundly.

Calleigh didn't have a nightmare the rest of the night.

--

Well, I hope you liked the latest installment!!! Thanks for reading, and please review!!! Adios for now!!! (Oh, and next chapter'll have spoilers from the episode from December 15th, the one where Horatio goes in a house where a bomb is and grabs a woman, racing to get out, and then it explodes. I don't know the name of it, sorry!)


	8. Duke's Plan Goes Into Motion

Chapter 8 is up!!! ENJOY!!! (Oh, and this one has spoilers from December 15th, if you haven't watched it and you don't want to know, you might not want to read, but if you don't care and haven't watched it, I think you'll understand most of it. ENJOY!!!!)

--

When Horatio woke in the morning, he felt a warmness slip away from his head. Cracking one eye open he saw Calleigh quietly slip out of bed, stretching and yawning. She donned a silk robe and slipped over to the window, where she drew the curtains to the side to look outside. Her head turns to look at the time and Horatio can see the rid-rims around her eyes that told him that she had been crying in her sleep. Suddenly, her head whips back to the window and she peers out of it more intensely, leaning into the window. She freezes, and then shrugs, walking out and Horatio hears the bathroom door shut and the shower start. He then opens his eyes and darted to the window, pulling the curtain aside to see if what Calleigh saw was still there. It wasn't. Horatio sighed and walked out to the kitchen to make some coffee. As he stood there, sipping his coffee and reading the newspaper, Calleigh's voice from the doorway said,

"Um, coffee. You're a lifesaver Horatio." He turned his head and smiled at her, saying,

"Good morning, ma'am."

"Morning." She said and grabbed a cup, gulping it down.

"Why, I thought you were a morning person." Horatio said, feigning shock.

"Only after I've had my five or six cups of coffee, Horatio," She said, pouring another cup. He chuckled and laid the newspaper aside. He looked in her eyes and saw that the red rims had gone away, which meant that either Calleigh had washed them away, or she was just really good with makeup.

"You're going to hate me for asking this, but are you all right?" He asked gently, and she nodded, saying,

"Yeah. Just don't ask me that question five times today and I'll be fine." He half smiled and nodded. She turned away as her cell rang. She answered it, saying,

"Duquesne. Oh, hey Frank. We do? Okay. You can't? Hm, that's odd. Yeah, I'll try him. No problem. I'll see you at the scene? Okay, thanks. Yeah, bye." She hung up and said,

"That was Frank."

"I gathered that." He said, looking at her.

"Yeah, bet you did. Well, he said we've got a case, but he tried to call you but didn't get an answer." She said, raising an eyebrow at him. Horatio blew out a breath and said,

"Yeah, my phone's off. Forgot about that when I woke up. And you told him that you would try me."

"Well, I wasn't going to tell him that you were standing in the middle of my kitchen wearing the same clothes you were wearing yesterday, now was I?" She retorted, and he chuckled.

"No, that wouldn't be good. Rick would jump at that kind of information."

"Yes he would. You better go home and change, I'll text you the scene location and you can meet me there, kay?"

"Yeah, good idea." He said, rinsing out his cup and grabbed his coat, badge and gun. As he turned towards the door, Calleigh said quietly,

"Thank you for staying last night. I know you don't want to be thanked, but I need to. You didn't have to."

"Yes I did, Calleigh." He said softly, turning to face her. They stared at each other for a moment and then Horatio slipped out of the front door.

--

As Horatio walked to his Hummer that was parked down the street, Duke's eyes followed him. He was tempted to jump the Lieutenant right then and there, but held back his rage at the fact that the Lieutenant had spent the night in his woman's house. That just wouldn't do. But, he had a plan to follow. If he had his way, he would get his woman and kill the Lieutenant before the sun set. With a wry grin he turned his attention back to Calleigh's house and kept watch, waiting for her to come out. When she did, he grinned, knowing that he would soon have her. She got in her Hummer and drove away, Duke following her. She drove to a scene, just like Duke hoped she would. With a satisfied grin he noticed that it was the right crime scene, the one he wanted her to go to. He had set it up with the help of his gang friends. As Duke drove away, waiting for his trap to be set by the Lieutenant himself, he called up one of his friends and made sure that the trap was set. Now all he had to do was sit by the house and wait.

--

The case went on, and only Calleigh noticed the concerned looks that Horatio would throw her way every now and then. They began to close in on their suspect when Horatio and Eric were out in the field. Horatio's cell phone rang the same time that Eric's did. They had their separate conversations, and when they both hung up Horatio said,

"I've got a bomb in a house nearby." Eric nodded and said frantically,

"Calleigh's missing." That got Horatio's attention and they both sped to the Hummer while Eric explained, "That was Natalia, she and Calleigh had just walked outside to get some lunch when a couple men ran up with a gun. They grabbed Calleigh and told her that they would shoot Natalia if she didn't cooperate. She did, and they shoved her into a car and drove off." Horatio nodded grimly and said,

"Let's get this bomb cleared and then we'll go find Calleigh." Eric nodded and Horatio squealed up outside of a house. Eric grabbed a ball that had a camera in it and tossed it in through the window. He looked through the house and found it ransacked.

"H, there's a bomb, I see it. There's about a minute left."

"Is there anyone inside?"

"Hang on," Eric said slowly, and had the camera swivel. It couldn't swivel very fast, but then Eric said,

"Yeah, there's a woman in there."

"Is she alive?"

"Um, oh my God."

"What?" Horatio demanded, looking at him.

"It's Calleigh." Eric said, all the blood draining out of his face. Horatio jogged towards the house and said over his shoulder,

"How much time is left?"

"Half a minute, H, you don't, you don't have enough time!" Eric shouted desperately, and Horatio said as he ducked inside,

"I have to try, Eric." As Eric frantically called for backup, Duke was sitting in a car with a few of his gang friends. He watched with satisfaction as Horatio ducked inside.

"Go." He said sharply to the two men, who got out. Duke's plan was for Horatio to die in the bomb, while his two men got Calleigh out of the house before it exploded. If the men died, oh well, but if they didn't get Calleigh out before the bomb exploded, Duke would not be a very happy man.

He wanted his woman very badly, and he was going to kill to get her. If he didn't, the Hispanic man out in front would have to do as a sacrifice.

--

I hope very much that you enjoyed the latest installment to this story!!! Thanks for reading and please review!!! Adios for now


	9. Bite Me

Chapter 9 is up!!! ENJOY!!! (This one has some spoilers from the episode from December 15th too, but towards the middle and the end there aren't any spoilers) ENJOY!!!

--

Horatio quickly opened the front door and looked around for Calleigh. He saw her bound and gagged in the hallway, the bomb lying a few feet from her. Her panicked eyes found his and she jerked her head back and forth, from him to the timer. He dashed to her side and ripped the tape from her mouth, and she pleaded,

"Horatio, get out of here! There's no time!"

"I'm not leaving without you, Calleigh," Horatio vowed and started to untie her.

"There's not enough time!" She said, desperation and panic in her voice.

"Then we'll go out the back," He said and picked her up. Her hands were free, so she reached down and untied her feet as Horatio jogged towards the back. As he ran out into the backyard, he used his left arm to hook around the back of Calleigh's knees to put her upright and put his right hand to the back of her head, pushing it down so it was protected. As he dashed out from the house it exploded with a huge force.

BOOM!

The force shoved Horatio and Calleigh to the ground, and they rolled farther away from the flames. Carefully Horatio got up and felt a sharp pain on the back of his head. As he slumped to the ground, his sight fading, he saw Calleigh looking behind him, a look of panic and anger in her eyes as she shouted,

"HELP!" With that Horatio promptly lost consciousness.

Calleigh saw the two men that had kidnap her leer at her over Horatio's limp body.

"Horatio!" She cried out, lurching towards his body. The two men roughly grabbed her forearms and dragged her away as she heard Eric's shout. She looked over her shoulder and saw Eric pulling his gun as he ran towards them, shouting,

"Miami-Dade PD, let the woman go now!" Of course, the two men paid no attention to Eric and he couldn't take a shot, Calleigh was too close and there was a great chance that he could hit her instead. It was all he could do to watch them drag Calleigh off.

Eric turned back to Horatio and saw him watching the two men drag Calleigh off too.

"H, I thought you were unconscious," Eric said, kneeling by his boss.

"I was, but Calleigh's scream could awaken the dead," Horatio said quietly, and Eric nodded.

"You're bleeding, let's get you to the hospital, H," Eric said, putting a hand out to help him up. Horatio got up on his own and winced, saying,

"No hospital. If you want me checked out, have Alexx do it. Tell her I'll be in my office, tracking Calleigh down." Horatio strode away, and Eric jogged after him, saying,

"H, I rode with you."

"I know. I'm calling backup to get this place secured, and then you and Mr. Wolfe will process while Miss Boa Vista works on finding out who these creeps are." Horatio said, and Eric shrugged, grabbing his case out of the Hummer while cops swarmed the scene, placing yellow tape all over the place.

Horatio sped away, while Duke's black eyes, filled with rage that he had escaped the bomb alive, followed his Hummer. He looked back at the struggling Calleigh in the backseat and reached back, using two fingers to stroke down her jaw. She cringed away from his touch and that only infuriated him. He forced her to look him in the eyes, and hers filled with fear when she recognized the black eyes. Then, the fear was replaced with anger as she mumbled something. Duke ordered the tape over her mouth to be removed and she blurted out,

"My team will get you, you know that right?"

"No, I don't know that. And they won't get me, darling, because by the end of tomorrow I'll be on a plane going back to Cuba. Depending on whether I like you enough or not, you'll be going with me." Duke said silkily, and Calleigh narrowed her eyes and said,

"Bite me."

"Oh, I intend to, my dear, be patient." She bared her teeth at him and that only made him laugh.

"Now, let's go drop you off at my, um, hiding hole, you could call it, while I go, uh, check on the Lieutenant, which already should've been done." Duke said, glaring at the two men. They looked sheepish and one said,

"Sorry, boss, the bomb should've gotten him; I don't know how he got out."

_I do,_ Calleigh thought, but didn't say. _You idiots didn't know that he's a bomb expert. Dumb apes._ But then, the full extent of their words hit her. _Duke's going to try and kill Horatio! No! I can't let that happen, I have to stop him! But how?_

--

Horatio sped to the lab and immediately went into his office to try and find Calleigh, using the power of his computer to check her phone and files. As he was deep in thought and work, someone knocked at his door. He looked up to see Alexx standing there. Closing his eyes he groaned, saying,

"I didn't think Eric would take my suggestion,"

"Well, he did. If you didn't want him to take it then you shouldn't have said it," Alexx said matter of factly, and Horatio sighed.

"I am fine, Alexx…" He started to say, but Alexx stopped him by cutting in and saying,

"You let me be the judge of that. I'm the doctor." Horatio nodded, saying,

"Yes ma'am. Am I allowed to work while you doctor my wound?"

"Since this is special circumstances, my answer is yes. But that's only because it's Calleigh who's missing, so don't think that I'm going to let you slide again, mister," Alexx warned, and Horatio nodded, getting back to work while Alexx patched up his small cut on his head.

"Well, at least the blood matches your hair," Alexx muttered, and Horatio smiled as his cell rang.

"S'cuse me," He said, standing up and walking a few strides away, answering and saying,

"Horatio."

"Um, hi,"

"Who is this?"

"Um, Bernard."

"Yes, Bernard?"

"Your missing CSI, I know where she is."

"You do? How?"

"I'm one of the gang members. I'm only in it 'cause my big brother told me to, but I don't wanna be in here."

"Okay, where is my CSI, Bernard?"

"Um, 2095 Laical Avenue."

"Thank you Bernard. You did the right thing." Horatio said, and then heard a dial tone. He looked at Alexx and said, "Alexx, I think I know where Calleigh is."

"Go, then! By all means, go get our Bullet Girl, Horatio!" Alexx said, pointing to the door. Horatio walked out, calling over his shoulder,

"Thank you Alexx," He walked by Natalia and said, "Miss Boa Vista, call backup for me and tell them to go to the address," He handed her a piece of paper and she nodded, saying,

"Is this where Calleigh is?"

"It's very possible," He called over his shoulder, as he was already starting down the hall.

"I'm coming, Calleigh, just hang in there. I'm on my way." He said to himself as he climbed in his Hummer and sped to 2095 Laical Avenue.

--

Well, I hope you liked the latest chapter!!! The next chapter will have some more spoilers from December 15th, but not any major ones as I altered the scene from the episode a whole lot, as I can't remember any of the names. (I swear, I've got short-term memory loss!) (JK!) Thanks for reading, please review and adios for now!!!


	10. Attempted Rescue

Chapter 10 is up!!! ENJOY!!! (Oh, and this one might have spoilers if you've seen the episode and if you squint. But only then, 'cause I really, really switched it around and changed it.) ENJOY!!!

--

Horatio got to the location and saw that it was a body shop. He slipped out of his Hummer silently, shutting the door as quietly as he could and he took out his gun as he stalked up to the door. He listened into the shop at the edge of the garage door, and heard a shot go off. Quickly he ducked inside, stalking up behind a man with a gun. Horatio swiveled his head, checking out the scenario.

There was a man with a gun, who was aiming it at a boy who looked about 18 or so. The boy was shaking with terror, as he whimpered,

"Please, I didn't mean it, please."

Horatio recognized his voice as the boy on the phone, Bernard. Then, a door burst open and a man strode out, a man Horatio didn't recognize. The man looked at the guy with the gun and Bernard, and shouted,

"Dallas, don't! He's just a kid for God's sakes!" Okay, so the man with the gun is Dallas, Horatio thought as he kept himself hidden. Dallas hissed,

"He called someone and won't tell me who it is! And don't try to protect him just 'cause he's your little brother, Dave," Now Horatio knew who all three guys were. The man with the gun was Dallas, the boy he was aiming it at was Bernard, and Bernard's protector and brother was Dave. While Horatio thought it all out, Dave sidled up next to Bernard and took out his own gun. Horatio decided then to intervene.

"Dallas, I want you to drop the gun now. You too, Dave," He said quietly, stepping out from behind a car, his gun aimed at the back of Dallas's head.

"Oh, so you called the cops." Dallas snarled, and shot Dave's gun, spinning around to face Horatio. Horatio would've taken the shot, except for the fact that there were two innocent bystanders standing behind Dallas, and there was too great of a chance that he could one of them instead of Dallas.

"If I were you, Dallas, I'd put the gun down. Backup's on its way, so I suggest you put it down." Horatio said quietly, advancing slowly. Dallas shook his head and grinned evilly.

"You're the Lieutenant, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am."

"Ha! You're the redhead Duke saw messing with his girl! I'll get double if I kill you myself." Dallas barked out a laugh and Horatio advanced another step.

"Duke? Duke who?"

"Figure it out yourself, Lieutenant. You're supposed to be smart." Dallas snorted, and Horatio eased another step closer. Time seemed to stand still for a few moments and Dave melted away from Bernard. Suddenly, Dallas's eyes went wide and he snarled,

"Aw crap, Blondie got out!" Horatio's eyes widened and just as Dallas shot over his shoulder, he shot Dallas and Dallas fell to the ground. Horatio spun around to see a woman clutching at her shoulder. A woman with blonde hair. A woman with green eyes. A woman who's name is Calleigh Duquesne. Blood trickled through her fingers but she brought her gaze up and, instead of meeting Horatio's gaze, it focused on something behind Horatio.

"Horatio!" She cried out, pointing behind him. Horatio spun around and saw Dallas pointing his gun at Bernard and shooting him. As Bernard sank to the ground, Horatio shot Dallas again, and he fell to the ground, dead. Dave ran to his little brother and tried to stop him bleeding. Horatio looked over at Calleigh and began jogging towards her, when a man ran up and grabbed her. He put a knife to her throat and threatened,

"Come any closer and she's dead, Lieutenant." As the man began to drag Calleigh away, she began fighting him. He just shook her and her gaze locked with Horatio's.

"I'm sorry." She mouthed, and Horatio shook his head. Just then, the man turned tail and began running across a nearby field. Horatio gave chase and still had his gun in his hand as he heard backup roaring up the road.

"Why couldn't they have gotten here earlier!" Horatio cried out in frustration as he continued to chase Calleigh and her kidnapper. They turned a corner on a street and Horatio dashed to the corner. When he looked over the corner, he saw the man shove Calleigh into the backseat of a car and he jumped in too. The car sped off, tires squealing and Horatio fired a few shots into the tires of the car. The car lost its path for a minute, but then straightened out, though it was going much slower. With a murderous expression on his face, he holstered his gun and just stood there, staring at the disappearing car carrying Calleigh away from him. Again.

--

Meanwhile, the man, who Calleigh knew as Max, shoved her in the car and hopped in next to her. Calleigh immediately twisted around to look out the back window and she saw Horatio pull his gun and fire at the car a few times. She ducked, hoping that one of the bullets would fly in and shoot Max and Duke, who was driving. Of course, that wouldn't happen because Horatio would never shoot at the back of the car if he knew she was in there. She kept watching Horatio as he holstered his gun and stood there. Her gaze locked onto him, and it was as if he could see her too, even if that wasn't possible. When they turned a corner and Horatio was gone, she glared at Max who was giving Duke a report.

"Well, Dallas got shot, he's dead, and I think Bernard is dead too, he got shot, but he's the one that called the Lieutenant, so I hope he's dead. And Dave got caught, he was trying to save Bernard and I think they arrested him." Duke swore and Calleigh snapped,

"Yeah, that's what's going to happen to you two as well!" They both glanced at her and Duke smiled warmly at her.

"Oh, feisty I see. Good, I like that kind. As soon as I get rid of the Lieutenant, we'll have our time together, I'll see to that." Calleigh looked him straight in the eyes and narrowed her eyes, letting him know exactly how she felt about that.

"You know what? I hate you." Calleigh said angrily, and turned her gaze to the window, as she watched all the trees and houses fly by. Duke chuckled and went back to his driving, not realizing that Calleigh was trying to figure out where they were going by checking out the landscape and landmarks. Duke turned the radio on and a song came on, and it was "He Ain't The Leaving Kind" by Rascal Flatts. Calleigh smiled to herself and said in her head,

"No, Horatio is definitely not the leaving kind. I'll get back, somehow, no doubt with his help. God I love him." Calleigh froze, realizing what she had just said in her mind. She began to deny it, but the little voice in the back of her head rebuked her, until Calleigh gave up and admitted what her voice had known for a while.

"All right, all right, I love him," She confessed, and was glad that she was having this conversation in her head.

Just then, the car stopped and Calleigh was tossed into a room somewhere. She heard Duke say evilly,

"Be good, my dear, because I'll be back soon. Don't worry, I just need to take care of the Lieutenant who keeps ruining my plans and taking my people. Till later, my dear." He blew a kiss at her and Calleigh scowled at him. Duke laughed and slammed the door, leaving Calleigh alone.

--

The end of this chapter!!! I hope you liked it, and did you catch the spoiler? It was really unnoticeable unless you saw the episode, and if you didn't see the episode then don't worry, as it didn't spoil any of episode at all, believe me. Thanks for reading and adios for now!!! OH! I just saw the commercial for the episode for February 2nd, and I CANNOT BELIEVE IT! If you haven't seen it, find it! The episode's going to be called "Smoke Gets In Your CSIs" and Alexx comes back, but for a horrible reason! Calleigh and Ryan can't get out of a burning house, but eventually they do, but they show Calleigh in the hospital not waking up! OMG I AM FREAKING OUT! Seriously!


	11. Two Locations, But Which One?

Chapter 11 is up!!! ENJOY!!! (No more spoilers, as I haven't been able to catch any of the new episodes.) (I'm sad ) (Maybe someone could tell me what happened…) ENJOY!!! (Yeah, I said it twice…)

--

When Horatio could no longer see the car carrying Calleigh away, he got to his feet and strode back to the auto shop. Officers were crawling all over the place, and Tara was already there for Bernard. Horatio's eyes were dark blue with despair, so he put his sunglasses on to hide that fact. As his eyes swept over the place, he strode to the back room that Calleigh had come out of. He looked inside, and his blue eyes turned to fire instead of icy despair. He saw handcuffs cuffed to a bed that had no mattress and no sheets, just a bed frame. Long blonde hairs were stuck in the cuffs and in the headboard. Horatio's trained eyes zeroed in on the cuffs and saw blood and skin, no doubt belonging to Calleigh, although they still had to process it. His eyes swept the rest of the room and saw that it was bare. Carefully he crept around with his flashlight and spotted a few fingerprints, and even a few hairs that he knew didn't belong to Calleigh, as they were short and brown, and others were long and black. Horatio called quietly, effectively masking the fury and frustration in his voice,

"Eric please." Eric came in and said lowly,

"We are going to catch this SOB before he hurts Calleigh even more."

"That is correct, Mister Delko, but first we have to process this place."

"Sure, H. What're you going to do?"

"I, am going to find out who took Calleigh." He said, holding up a few lifters with fingerprints on them, a few bags with hair on them and a few swabs with blood on them.

"All right. I'll see you back at the lab?" Eric asked, and Horatio nodded, silently walking out. He stood outside the back room, silently debating whether to go talk to Tara about Bernard, or just go to the lab and give the blood and hair to Valera and Natalia, and do the fingerprints himself. He ended up deciding to go talk to Tara for a moment first. He strode over to her and she saw him approach.

"Hey Horatio."

"Tara." He said in acknowledgment. "So what have we got here?"

"Through and through. I guess Calleigh can find the bullet, because I tried. I didn't find it." Tara noticed how Horatio stiffened at Calleigh's name, and she asked, "What's up with Calleigh, Horatio?"

"She's been kidnapped. That's why I came here, to try and find her. Then, all hell broke loose."

"And this young man ended up dead." Tara said softly and sadly, and Horatio nodded solemnly.

"He was the one who informed me about Calleigh's whereabouts."

"So where is she now?"

"She was kidnapped. Again."

"Oh no." Tara said quietly, and Horatio nodded.

"Let me know when you finish the post."

"No problem." Tara said, and turned her attention back to Bernard. Horatio walked away and got in his Hummer. He sat in the Hummer for a moment, letting the fire in his eyes cool down until his eyes turned to ice, thinking of whoever had kidnapped Calleigh. When, not if, when, he caught them, they would wish that he had never taken one of Horatio's CSI's. Especially not a certain Southern blonde. As Horatio drove back to the lab, his head turned to the passenger seat and he could almost envision Calleigh sitting there, talking to the drivers that refused to get out of the way of the Hummer. She was always so pissed off, but she refused to let Horatio honk the horn. Her exact words had always been,

"I am a Southern lady, honking horns is just so rude. I was raised better than that." To which he had teasingly replied,

"Only you? Are you implying something here?" She had only raised her eyebrow at him and had said slyly,

"Maybe. Maybe not." Horatio had always laughed, and then usually they pulled up to the lab or the crime scene.

That had been a few years back, before he had even met Marisol. Horatio longed for those days, where Calleigh was still his best friend and they had flirted harmlessly, laughing a lot and smiling too. But then Marisol had come into the picture, and Horatio began drifting away from Calleigh without even noticing. He knew Calleigh had been hurt and betrayed by that, but he was too involved with Marisol to notice and, he thought ashamedly, even care. Then, after Marisol had been killed, Calleigh had come to his rescue, being the person he leaned on. Horatio couldn't count the number of times that Calleigh had helped him through the emotional storm night after horrible night. But then he had been expedited to Brazil and she had been kidnapped, and when that whole ordeal was over, he and Calleigh had drifted apart again. Horatio had written it off, and the next thing he knew, their relationship had been damaged beyond repair, so he had thought, because Calleigh avoided him at all costs.

Now he knew that it was because she didn't want to be hurt and betrayed again. But back then, he had just thought it was because she was in a fight with Jake or something like that. It hurt Horatio deeply that he was so involved in his own problems and cases that he had never thought about Calleigh, never gave her a second thought.

Horatio was jerked out of her reverie when he pulled up at the lab. He strode in, heading to his office and he caught the somber look son everyone's faces. He realized that the lab's entire mood was somber, and he knew that it was because Calleigh was usually the life of the lab. Her 200 watt smile was always so infectious, and her sunny Southern personality lit up the lab every day, with her remarks and snappy comebacks. Horatio made his way to his office and dropped off the blood and hairs to Valera and Natalia on his way. He had told them,

"Right now Calleigh is your only case, as far as I am concerned. Everything else can either wait for be transferred to night or swing shift. Okay?"

"Got it, H." Valera had replied, and Natalia had agreed. They set to work while Horatio went into the fingerprint lab and did the prints himself. He eliminated everyone that had been in the shooting, like Bernard, Dallas and Dave, and he eliminated the fingerprints that came back as Calleigh's. He was left with only a couple, and they were from two different people. He scanned them into the computer and while it searched for the people, Horatio went back to his office and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

It took a few days to come back with a hit on both fingerprints, and one day the results popped up on the screen. Horatio stared into the faces of two men, one was named Robert Callaghan, and the other was named Duke Mandrel. As Horatio stared into Duke's coal black eyes, he knew, he just knew that he had found the man that had taken Calleigh. His eyes narrowed and he strode out of the lab, headed to his office to look up Duke Mandrel. He found out that Duke had two know locations that he hung out at, and Horatio knew that time was of the essence. There was no telling what Duke had already done to Calleigh. Quickly he pulled out his phone and dialed Frank.

"Frank, I've got two possible locations for Calleigh. I need squad cars and backup at both. You, Eric, Natalia and Ryan take 24352 Langston Street, and I, Adele, and, how about, Detective Jennifer, okay?"

"Calleigh's sister? Jennifer Duquesne, right?"

"Uh huh. Tell them to meet me at 63467 Rayburn Avenue, all right?"

"Got it." Frank said, and Horatio said quietly,

"She's been gone for a few days, Frank, time is running out and it's running out fast." Horatio hung up and got up striding through the lab. His words rang inside his head, and he knew that he had to find her soon.

He just had to.

--

End of this chapter!!! I'm thinking about having spoilers from the episode, "Smoke Gets To Your CSIs" in the next chapter, but I'm not sure yet. It's very possible, if the episode is as good as it's previews!! Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it and adios for now!!!


	12. Necklace Bomb Not Good

Chapter 12 is up!!! I've decided to incorporate altered scenes from "Smoke Gets In Your CSIs" episode, but I don't think in this chapter, later chapters! No spoilers for this chapter, but do you remember the officer from, like, season 1, I think it was? Adele Sevilla? She's in this, because I couldn't think of any other officer to be in there, so she's in there. What happened to her, anyways? Anyone know? Anyways, ENJOY!!!!

--

Horatio walked by Natalia and Ryan and stopped them, saying,

"Miss Boa Vista, Mr. Wolfe, go find Eric and go to this location." He handed Natalia a piece of paper with the address written on it and he strode away, calling over his shoulder, "Frank will meet you there, and I want a complete search. You've got probable cause, that is where Calleigh could be hidden. Find her."

"Got it, H." Ryan called, and he and Natalia set off to find Eric in his lab. They told him, and they raced to a Hummer, speeding to the location with their siren on.

Eric, Natalia and Ryan pulled up in a Hummer at 24352 Langston Street, while Frank pulled up beside them in his car. They heard backup roaring in the distance, and Frank hesitated, knowing that they were supposed to wait. Eric and Ryan strode right up to the door, and Frank muttered,

"To hell with procedure, this is a missing CSI for God's sake!"

He marched up to the door with Natalia trailing him, and when he got there, Eric banged on the door and shouted, "Miami-Dade PD, open the door immediately!" When there was no answer, Eric and Ryan kicked the door open together. The three CSIs and detective swarmed the house, with Natalia and Ryan going upstairs and Eric and Frank checking the main floor.

"Clear!" Natalia and Ryan both called out, and Eric and Frank did the same. They met by the staircase and then Eric said heatedly,

"Shut up!" They fell silent, and then heard what Eric was hearing. A muffled woman's voice was coming from beneath the floorboards. They all pulled their guns and dashed to the kitchen, where they found a hidden door. Silently Eric pulled it open, and the four silently snuck down the stairs. Frank motioned for them to fan out, and the three CSIs did, while Frank stayed in the middle of the room they found.

Suddenly, the light flared on and a man stood there with coal black eyes. He grinned evilly at them, and Frank said, "Miami-PD, freeze and let the woman go, now!"

"Shoot and we all get blown to hell." The man said, the grin still on his face. Everyone froze as he turned the woman around. Her blonde hair fell ragged in her face and her pale face had a few bruises on it. A haunted look had taken place in her eyes, the green eyes of Calleigh Duquesne.

And she had a necklace bomb around her neck.

Her eyes turned to terror as she looked at all four of them. "Get out of here while you still can!" She cried out, her voice hoarse.

"Shut up!" The man growled and slapped her. Eric took a step forward, along with Ryan, Frank and Natalia, but the man raised a detonator in his hand, saying menacingly,

"Move again and I'll blow us all up. Don't think I won't." They all froze, and Calleigh closed her eyes in defeat. "I'm going to walk out of here, and no one follows me or I'll blow her up, I swear I will." The man said, and Frank nodded, stepping out of his way. He kept his gun trained on the man, as did Natalia, Eric and Ryan. They watched helplessly as Calleigh got dragged up the stairs.

Quickly they followed the man and Calleigh, and watched them with hate and despair as the man pulled her into the car hidden in the alley and as it drove away, Natalia strained to get a license plate number, but found that there wasn't a plate on there. Frank immediately got the car description out on the radio, but warned them that there was an officer that was abducted who was wearing a necklace bomb in the car, so they had to be extra-careful. Eric, Ryan and Natalia began processing the place, hoping to get a clue as to where the man was taking Calleigh, but got nothing. That's when Frank told them who the guy was.

"The kidnapper is Duke Mandrel, guys." Frank said, and Eric straightened up, as did Ryan and Natalia.

"He's the guy who tried to illegally adopt Sophie!" Natalia said, and Eric and Ryan nodded. Frank froze, and then called Horatio.

"Horatio, did you know that Duke is the guy who tried to illegally adopt that girl Sophie earlier this past year?" Frank said, and Horatio replied,

"No, I did not, Frank, thank you."

"Sure. We, uh, kind of found Calleigh."

"What do you mean kind of, Frank?"

"Well, we found her and Duke, but he, he had a necklace bomb around her, Horatio. There was nothing any of us could do, we had to let him walk. He could've blown us all up." Horatio was silent for a moment, and then nodded, though Frank couldn't see him.

"All right. You're right, you couldn't have done anything. I am almost at the other place now, I'll let you know how it goes."

"Good. Bye." Frank hung up, and Horatio sighed.

"Bad new?" Adele said from the passenger seat, and Horatio nodded.

"They found Calleigh and Duke, but had to let them go."

"What! Why?" Adele said heatedly, but Horatio held up a hand as he drove, saying,

"Duke put a necklace bomb around her neck, they couldn't have done anything, Adele."

"Oh. All right. So, you think Duke ran to his other place?"

"We'll find out, won't we?" Horatio said, as they pulled up. A car pulled up right next to them, and a black haired woman got out. Horatio walked up to her and said quietly, "I am so sorry, Jennifer, I know you just got back from your vacation."

"Yeah. Gotta love my luck, I get back from vacation and find out my sister's been kidnapped." Jennifer said, running a hand through her hair. "Do you know where Eric is?"

"He's processing another scene, if you want I can pull him over here." Eric and Jennifer had been dating, so Horatio knew she might want him there.

"If you could I'd appreciate it. I'm gonna need some support." She muttered, and Horatio nodded, pulling his cell and talking shortly with Eric. When he hung up, he pulled his gun, along with Adele and Jennifer, saying,

"Ready ladies?" They both nodded, and Horatio said quietly, "Follow my lead." The trio stalked up to the house, and Horatio sent Adele and Jennifer around the back. He stood at the door and banged on it, saying,

"Miami-Dade PD, open up!" When there was just silence, Horatio repeated himself. When he got no answer, he announced, "I'm coming in!" He kicked the door open and stalked inside, his gun up and at the ready.

A few moments later, he, Jennifer and Adele had the place cleared. No sign of Calleigh anywhere, not even in the attic or basement. Just then, Horatio got a call from Eric.

"H, I just got off the phone with the property clerk for Dade county."

"And?"

"And there's a small shack in the back of the property."

"Got it, thank you Eric." Horatio hung up and said, "Ladies, we've got a hidden shack in the back. Let's go check it out." They both nodded and followed Horatio as they walked across the lawn and into a small forest that was halfway on the property.

They finally spotted a shack, and knocked. A woman's muffled shriek came from inside the shack. Horatio knew it was Calleigh's shriek, and without further ado he kicked the door wide open, peering inside with his gun first.

--

Had to end it there, as it was getting just a teensy bit long! I hope you liked it, and the next chapter will be up soon, I promise! Gotta love my cliff-hangers, huh? Thanks for reading, and adios for now!!!


	13. Buried With A Gun

Chapter 13 is up!! And I just saw the promo for the episode called "Sink or Swim" or something like that, and I finally came up with an explanation for the whole thing: Calleigh has a twin sister that Eric is dating and that is who he is kissing. That's my take on it, as I am a die-hard DuCaine fan, and I plan on being one until the very end! (Sorry, little melodramatic there) So I am working on a story that has Calleigh having a twin sister, and I'm going to call it "Fancy" (If that sounds familiar, think Reba, and then you might have a good idea of what my story is going to be based on!) Wow, I'm rambling for a long time! Sorry! ENJOY!!!

--

"Miami-Dade PD, drop your weapons and come out with your hands raised!" Jennifer called, stalking in behind Horatio. Horatio heard movement and peered into a room, seeing Duke frantically pulling a shirt on. Horatio kicked the door all the way open and aimed his gun at Duke, though he held it gently, wanting Duke to throw a punch at him, therefore giving him an excuse to use 'excessive force' while arresting him.

Duke narrowed his coal black at the Lieutenant and then lunged at him. Horatio's gun went skidding away as Duke's solid form landed on Horatio and they went down, throwing punches.

"You know, I thoroughly enjoyed your CSI, Lieutenant." Duke growled, and that set Horatio off. He yanked out his cuffs and channeled all of his anger to his fist as he slammed it into Duke's jaw. Quickly Horatio cuffed him, dragging him to his feet and Jennifer said angrily,

"You're under arrest for the attempted murder of a police officer and the kidnapping of another officer. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…" Jennifer continued to read him his rights as she dragged him outside.

"Horatio, listen," Adele said, and they both fell silent. "Calleigh?" Adele called, and they heard a thumping sound.

"Calleigh, sweetheart, do that again." Horatio called, and the thumping came louder this time. Adele and Horatio exchanged glances as they moved to the kitchen, following the sound. They kept their guns up, and then Horatio spotted a door, no doubt leading to a basement. Horatio slowly opened the door and walked down the stairs, keeping his gun up and at the ready.

"Miami-Dade PD," Adele announced, as per procedure. The thumping continued, though it was weaker this time.

"Calleigh?" Horatio said quietly as he took out his flashlight and beamed it around. It landed on a prone figure on the ground and Horatio raced over to the figure, rolling it over and saying softly, "Sweetheart, are you okay?"

But it wasn't Calleigh.

It was the accomplice of Duke, it was Robert Callaghan. Horatio swore under his breath as he reached for a pulse, but found none. Horatio grip tightened on Robert's shoulder as he let the fear consume him, but only for a moment. Then he stood up, holstering his gun and walking out, past a fuming Adele.

He walked out and Jennifer immediately locked eyes with him, her eye asking the silent question. He shook his head, and immediately knew that was the wrong thing to do. Jennifer's eyes filled with tears and she sank to the ground, putting her head in her hands.

"Jennifer, Jennifer, I didn't mean it like that. Calleigh's not in there, she's not dead, we just don't know where she is." Horatio said soothingly, kneeling by her side in a hurry. She raised her face, taking a few deep breaths and nodding, saying,

"Sorry."

"Don't be." He said quietly, squeezing her hand. She smiled a ghost of a smile and said quietly,

"Now I know why Calleigh cares so much about you." Horatio just looked at her, and then Jennifer stood up, radioing for a patrol car to take Duke to holding. Adele strode out just in time to see Horatio grabbing Duke by his shirt collar and shoving him against a tree, growling,

"Where is she?"

"Who?" Duke said innocently, though his killer cold black eyes locked on Horatio's fuming blue eyes.

"You know who. My CSI. Where. Is. She?"

"Find out yourself." Duke said with a sneer, and Horatio tightened his grip, slowly constricting Duke's windpipe.

"I will not ask you again. Where is my CSI?"

"Buried." Duke choked out, in his killer cold voice. "Find her in 2 days or she runs out of oxygen. Either that or she's already dead. I gave her a gun, maybe she already committed suicide."

"What?" Horatio snapped, letting Duke go a little, as he was talking now.

"You heard me. Better hurry up and find her, Lieutenant." Duke said, laughing manically. Horatio let him go, clenching his hands as a few patrolmen led him away. Horatio took out his cell and called Eric.

"Delko."

"Eric, get the entire team over here."

"Everyone?"

"Everyone. Calleigh is buried somewhere on this property, and we are going to find her before her oxygen runs out."

"Got it." They both clicked off and Horatio stood there with his hands on his hips for a moment, and then strode off into the woods to help section it off, looking for freshly disturbed dirt. He walked around for a few hours, and soon the sun was setting, and they were setting up strobe lights.

Horatio was dead tired, his head was pounding and his eyes were smarting, but he wasn't going to stop. Not now. Not until they found Calleigh and she was finally safe. He noticed that Ryan and Natalia had gone home, but Eric and Adele stayed, along with Jennifer. Frank was gone, and Horatio figured out that the six were doing 12 hour shifts. But he wasn't leaving unless he had Calleigh with him.

But then, he felt hands pulling him away. He fought against those hands, but they were persistent. He found himself in the Hummer, with Alexx saying quietly, "Thanks guys." Then he heard Eric, Ryan and Frank say, "No problem." He heard Eric leave with Jennifer and Adele drove off, but Ryan, Natalia and Frank stayed.

"Alexx, no, I'll sleep, but let me stay here." Horatio said when he saw Alexx sitting in the drivers seat, getting ready to start the car. Alexx looked at him a long time, and opened her mouth to protest, but then caught the tortured and haunted expression in Horatio's eyes and said,

"All right, Horatio, lay back and sleep, okay? I promise I'll get you personally if we find anything, all right?"

"Okay. Thanks Alexx." He said, and then dropped off into sleep. Alexx looked at him with concern for a moment, and then went back to help look for Calleigh.

Eventually they brought a body-heat finder, and Natalia went up in the helicopter to use it. They saw something buried in the middle of the field, but whatever it or who it was, they were losing body heat fast, which meant they were dying. Alexx raced back to the Hummer and pulled open the passenger seat door, gently shaking Horatio's arm.

"Horatio, wake up." His eyes snapped open and locked onto hers. "We found something." She added, and he slipped out of the Hummer, jogging to where they were digging with Alexx beside him.

Horatio watched with a calm expression on his face, but to those who knew him, there was torture in his fiery blue eyes. He was trembling inside, praying that she would be okay.

Then, Eric called out, and Horatio raced over and began sweeping dirt off of a box. It was nailed closed, so Ryan raced to get a crowbar. He handed it to Horatio, who immediately pried it open.

--

The end of this chapter! Gotta love my ending, huh? Guess what's going to happen? Will it be Calleigh? The next chapter will be up as soon as I write it, and it might have scenes from "Smoke Gets In Your CSIs" but it might not, I'm not sure yet. Thanks for reading, and I hope you liked it! Adios for now!!!


	14. He Would Not Let Her Die

Chapter 14 is up!!! This doesn't have any spoilers for "Smoke Gets In Your CSIs" but the next chapter probably will! ENJOY!!!

--

The search team stared down into the box with dismay written all over their faces. There lay a man who looked familiar to Horatio. Ryan took his pulse, and said, "He's alive! Get me a medic now!" A few paramedics ran up, taking the man and racing away. Horatio watched the ambulance race away, and said quietly,

"That was the man who took Calleigh from the body shop." Everyone digested that information, and then Horatio added, "Alexx, go home."

"Horatio, I can stay." She said firmly, glaring at him. Horatio met her glare with a cool gaze and said,

"No. Go home to your kids, your husband, and then come back in 12 hours."

"Is that an order, Lieutenant?" She asked, a hard look coming into her eyes.

"Yes it is, Alexx. But not as a Lieutenant. As a concerned friend, okay?" He said, his voice going softer.

"But Horatio, I need to be here,"

"Your kids need you more. I promise, if we find anything, you will be my first call. Even before I check whatever it is out, okay?"

Alexx sighed and said, "Fine. 12 hours only, okay?"

"Good enough." Alexx put a hand on Horatio's arm and said,

"We'll find her, Horatio."

"Yes we will. The only question is will we find her alive?" He said, his blue eyes showing his fear to her.

"We will." She said firmly, but her voice quavered as she added softly, "We have to." Then she walked off to her car, slowly driving away. Horatio watched her go, and then got back to work on finding Calleigh. Ryan, Natalia and Frank switched with Adele, Jennifer and Eric, who were briefed on the false alarm. Jennifer's face fell when she heard the news, and Eric wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they got back to the search.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out, muffled from being under the ground. Horatio's head jerked up, the terror showing on his face as Duke's words came back to him. _"I gave her a gun, maybe she already committed suicide."_

"No." He whispered, as his hand took out his phone without any urging from his brain. He dialed Alexx and put the phone to his ear.

"Horatio?" Alexx voice said, and Horatio said, almost inaudibly,

"I heard a gunshot, Alexx. Duke said he gave Calleigh a gun."

"Go find her! I'm turning back around, just go!" Alexx cried out, and Horatio hung up, striding to where Eric, Jennifer, Adele and a few other people were digging where they heard the gunshot come from. Horatio stood back, as there wasn't any room to help, though he desperately wanted to.

Then, they found a box and Horatio grabbed the crowbar and Eric helped him pry the top off. They yanked it off, and saw Calleigh's pale face, her blond hair spilling out around her head. Horatio's eyes traveled down her body, making sure she was okay, and saw a bullet wound in her stomach, that was bleeding profusely.

"Oh my God, Calleigh!" Jennifer screamed, and Eric locked his arms around her waist to keep her from leaping on Calleigh. Adele said,

"Get me those paramedics now." Horatio knew that there wasn't time to wait for an ambulance. He slipped his arms around Calleigh and lifted her up, feeling her blood soaking his shirt, but he didn't care. He began jogging towards the parking lot, keeping a tight grip on Calleigh. A few medics met him and took Calleigh from him and loaded her up into the ambulance.

"Lieutenant, are you coming?" One of them asked him, and he shook his head.

"Eric, Jennifer, go with her. I'll meet you there." Eric shot him a glance, but then got in with a shaking Jennifer. He saw Ryan, Natalia and Frank pulled up, and saw the blood on Horatio's shirt.

"Horatio, what the hell happened?" Frank asked, and Horatio said in a flat tone,

"We found Calleigh with a gunshot wound to her stomach. I carried her to the ambulance, so Mr. Wolfe, you need to process my clothes back at the lab.

"Yeah sure, H." Ryan said, and Natalia squeezing Ryan's hand, asking quietly,

"Will she be okay?"

"I, I have no idea, Ms. Boa Vista." Horatio said, locking eyes with her. She nodded, and Ryan told her to go to the hospital with Frank while he took Horatio to the lab to get his clothes processed.

While Ryan was taking his boss's clothes, he couldn't help but notice the lost look in Horatio's eyes. He supposed he had looked that way when Tim Speedle had died, but this time, it just seemed different than what Ryan imagined Horatio after Speedle's death. When Ryan had finished processing him, Horatio said quietly, "I'll be at the hospital, Mr. Wolfe if you need me." Ryan just nodded, and Horatio walked out, changing into a new suit and then drove to the hospital. He seemed cool as ever, but if someone was being really observant, they could see that Horatio was gripping the steering wheel with such a grip that his knuckles were turning white.

Horatio pulled up to the hospital, and asked for Calleigh's wing. He goes up to the third floor silently, and then saw Frank, Natalia, Eric and Jennifer all sitting there. He walks up to them and sits down in a chair, saying,

"Where's Adele and Alexx?"

"Adele went home to get some sleep, and Alexx is in the operating room, observing. They allowed her to, because she's a doctor." Eric said, keeping his arm around Jennifer's shoulders. Horatio nodded his thanks and dropped his head into his hands.

A few hours had passed when Alexx came out. Horatio immediately stood up, and Alexx said, "Calleigh's stable, for now. She lost a lot of blood, but there didn't seem to be any long-term organ damage."

"Can she have visitors?"

"Yes. One at a time. I suggest you all go home, though, she's still recovering from the surgery, that could take a while." Alexx said, aiming that comment at Horatio. He looked at her for a long time, taking a step towards her and saying,

"Alexx, I have worried about her for too long. I am not going to waste a single moment of my time sleeping when I could be watching over her." Alexx sighed as she nodded, and Horatio strode into Calleigh's room. They others decided to split up their time, taking turns watching over Calleigh.

Horatio would take the first shift, and then Jennifer, then Eric, then Natalia, then Ryan, then Alexx and finally Frank, and then they would repeat the cycle. Alexx had gotten them special permission to stay past visiting hours, so they would each stay in her room for about 3, 3 ½ hours each. Everyone left the hospital except Jennifer and Eric, as Jennifer wouldn't leave, and Eric wouldn't leave her.

Meanwhile, Horatio walked into Calleigh's room, seeing her lying on the bed with the palest face he had ever seen. Silently he sat next to her, taking her hand.

Suddenly he was struck by the feeling that this had happened before. With a horrified look in his eyes, he remembered that this is exactly what he had done when Marisol was in the hospital. He had held her hand as she died, just as he was holding Calleigh's hand the same way. He tightened his grip, murmuring,

"No, Calleigh, you can't die. You just can't." Still she didn't stir, but Horatio kept alternating his gaze from her face to the machine monitoring her breathing. He wasn't going to let her stop breathing, not after she had made it this far. She had to keep fighting, if not for herself, then for him and her sister, and for the team.

Soon, it was Jennifer's turn, then Eric's, and in about a day Horatio was back for his turn watching over Calleigh. He grabbed her hand, holding it in his, and then he couldn't take it anymore. He stood up, striding over to the window and letting his fist fall on it, flashes from the past few days rushing back to him, putting a serious dent in his the shield he had built around his emotions. He leaned against the wall, breathing deeply and fighting the tears back desperately.

Suddenly, an angel's voice broke through his emotional storm and said softly, "You okay, Horatio?" Horatio spun around, his tortured blue eyes meeting the concerned green eyes of Calleigh Duquesne. He strode to her bedside, sitting down next to her and saying restrictedly,

"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" She smiled and blinked once, swallowing.

"I'm okay." She said, and he rolled his eyes, shoving his emotions back to make sure Calleigh was okay. "Is Duke…?" She asked tentatively, and the fire came back to Horatio's eyes as he said tensely,

"Yes, we have him in custody." She nodded, relief obvious on her face.

"Good. Will I have to testify if there's a trial?" She asked, and Horatio squeezing her hand, saying,

"Probably, but we have enough evidence to lock him up for life. But if you do, we'll all be there for you."

"Including you?"

"Including me." He said with a half smile. Just then, a knock came at the door, and Horatio knew it was Jennifer. "Give me a second," He called, and the person went away. Calleigh looked questioningly at her, and he said, "We've divided up shifts to keep watch over you."

"Aw, how sweet!" She said, her southern accent coming out. He smiled, and impulsively kissed her forehead, murmuring,

"I'll be back, sweetheart. And then we have to talk." She nodded, a smile floating onto her face. He walked out, and Jennifer walked in.

--

Wow that was long! I had a huge idea, so I'm running with it, and the next chapter will be up in a few days, at least, because I'll probably have it done in a day or two! I hope you liked this chapter, and the next chapter will probably have a few twisted scenes from "Smoke Gets In Your CSIs" Thanks for reading, and for those who are reading my 'All I Want Forever' story, I am really sorry for not updating, but I'm stuck on my latest chapter, and it won't be up until I get unstuck. As for my 'GB Song Stories' story, that one will be finished soon, but I hit a little road block with that one as well. For some strange reason, my fingers will only write for NCIS at the moment. My muse is really annoying, because for the longest time I could only write CSI: Miami stories, and CSI: Las Vegas stories, and now it's NCIS. Before that it was SVU and New York, so I'm wondering what's next! Hopefully CSI: Miami! Sorry, rambling. Congrats for reading this far in my rambling, and adios for now!!!


	15. Hugs And Drugs

Chapter 15 is up!!! ENJOY!!!

--

"Calleigh!" Jennifer cried out, racing to her sister's bedside and hugging her gently.

"Jen! When did you get back? I thought you were in New Orleans!" Calleigh cried, hugging her sister back enthusiastically.

"I was, but then I got transferred back to Miami just a few days ago! Boy am I glad for that!" Jennifer said, sitting down next to Calleigh in the seat Horatio had just vacated.

"Yeah, I bet. So, where's Eric? You two still okay?" Calleigh asked slyly, and Jennifer laughed. She and Eric had kept up the long-term relationship when she was transferred from Miami to New Orleans a few months ago, and they had kept it strong, apparently

"Yeah, we're okay. We're both glad I'm back, though."

"Yeah I bet. So, where is he?"

"His shift is after mine. He'll be here, don't worry." Jennifer teased, and Calleigh rolled her eyes. Just then, Jennifer's cell went off and she stood up to answer it.

"Jen Duquesne." She said, to make sure the caller knew she was Jennifer, not Calleigh.

"Jen, it's Eric."

"Hey baby, what's up?"

"Do you have your gun on you?"

"Yeah, why?"

"A couple of rookie cops that were in charge of Duke let him go."

"What!? How?" Jennifer demanded, and Eric said,

"They didn't lock him up right. He's on the loose, and he took one of their guns, so be careful."

"All right, I'll be on alert. Did you alert the security at the hospital?"

"Yeah. They'll be on the lookout, but I wanted to let you know."

"All right, thanks Eric. Do you really think he'll come here?"

"Anything's possible, Jen. I just want you and Calleigh to be safe, all right?"

"We will be. Love you."

"I love you too, baby. Be safe."

"Kay. Bye." She hung up, and said immediately to a curious Calleigh, "Duke was let out. A couple of rookies didn't lock him up right, and he stole one of their guns. Eric alerted security, because he could come here and try to take you, but don't worry, I won't let him." Calleigh nodded, saying,

"Okay. Now, can we get back to catching up?"

"Of course." Jennifer said with a smile, sitting down, but keeping her hand on her gun. Soon, she and Calleigh were crying with laughter, when suddenly a hand put a handkerchief over Jennifer's face, and she collapsed on the ground.

"Jennifer! HEL--" Calleigh started to scream, but the man who knocked Jennifer out put the same handkerchief over Calleigh's mouth, and she soon collapsed too. The man pulled off his mask, and his cold black eyes were alive with mirth as he unhooked Calleigh from the machines and swung her into his arms. He walked out of the room, going into the staff staircase and walking all the way down to the ground floor, where he walked out the delivery door without anyone stopping him.

As soon as he dumped Calleigh into a black van, he started to chuckle. He got in and drove away, still chuckling as he glanced over at the blonde. He looked in the rearview mirror and saw his black eyes staring back at him.

Score one for Duke Mandrel.

--

Meanwhile, Eric showed up for his shift and saw Calleigh missing from her bed, and Jennifer lying prone on the floor. "Jen!" He shouted, and poked his head into the hallway, shouting, "I need a medic in here, there's a patient missing and officer down!" Eric dashed to Jennifer's side and took her pulse, which was beating strong.

"Ugh," Jennifer muttered as she came to.

"Jen? Jen, baby, can you hear me?"

"Uh huh. Stop shouting, Eric, I'm okay." Jennifer said weakly raising her head up. Eric immediately put her head back down, pressing his lips to her forehead as a medic came in.

"You're gonna be okay, Jen, stay with me." Eric said, concern evident in his tone.

"Kay." She said weakly, and then remembered what had happened as a medic came in to take her pulse. She sat up and said urgently, "Eric! Some guy, he came in and drugged me!"

"We know, baby," Eric said soothingly, but Jennifer locked her terrified eyes onto Eric's soothing ones and said frantically,

"Whoever he is he's got Calleigh!" Eric's eyes widened and he jumped to his feet, yanking out his cell.

"Frank, it's Eric. We've got a big problem."

"How big?" Frank said tersely, and Horatio's voice in the background said,

"What's going on, Frank?" Eric said quickly,

"Frank, Duke got in Calleigh's room and drugged Jennifer, probably drugged Calleigh too and got away with Calleigh."

"How in the hell did that happen?" Frank said heatedly, and Eric said just as heatedly,

"I don't know, Frank! All I know is that we've gotta find her. He unhooked her machines, who knows how she is." Eric hung up, and took Jennifer's face in his hands gently, saying quietly, "Jen, baby, this is important. Did you get a look at the man's face?"

"Stop talking to me like I'm a victim, Eric, I'm a perfectly able-minded cop, and no, I didn't see his face. But I'll tell you what I do see." Jennifer said, pointing at the hallway. Eric followed her finger and saw a security camera.

"Thanks Jen." He said, kissing the top of her forehead as the medic helped her stand and took her away to be given an antibiotic. Eric took out his cell and dialed Ryan. "Ryan, sorry to wake you." Eric said, and Ryan said,

"I wasn't asleep, actually. What's up?"

"Is Natalia there?"

"Uh huh."

"Put it on speaker." Eric requested, and Ryan did so. "We've got a big problem, and I think both of you should get over to the hospital. Calleigh was abducted, again, by Duke."

"Are you sure?" Ryan said, while Natalia cursed Duke in the background.

"Not positive, but pretty close. I need someone to get the video tapes from the hallways looked at, because I need to find Horatio." Eric said, and Ryan said,

"I'll get on it, and Natalia can do the hospital room if you don't mind, Natalia." Ryan said, obviously talking to Natalia.

"No, I don't mind. Me and Ryan will meet you there, Eric." Natalia said and hung up. Eric sighed as he went out front to wait for Ryan and Natalia. They pulled up, and Eric filled them in on the details. Then, Ryan headed to the security room for the tapes while Natalia headed to the room. Eric went to the Hummer to find Horatio and ask him what they were going to do now.

--

Meanwhile, when Eric had hung up, Frank turned to Horatio, knowing that he had to be the one to deliver the bad news. "What's up, Frank?" Horatio asked quietly, knowing something horrible was coming.

"Bad new, Horatio."

"I gathered that from your tone. What kind of bad news?"

"The worst. Duke was let go by a couple of rookies." Frank said gruffly, watching as the look on Horatio's face changed to one of complete fury.

"What? How in the hell did that happen?" Horatio demanded, and Frank said,

"They're new, one of them didn't cuff him right, and he got out. He got one of their guns and shot them both. They're in the hospital recovering, but that's not all."

"Go on, Frank." Horatio said cautiously, knowing that he wouldn't like what was going to be said at all.

"That was Eric, Jennifer was watching Calleigh when Duke got in there, and drugged Jennifer with a rag, probably doing the same to Calleigh. All we know is that he unhooked her from all the machines and made off with her like a damned bandit." Frank said, and as he spoke the look on Horatio's face went from furious to concerned back to anger, then to despair and fear, and then to determination.

"We're going to find her, Frank. And once we do, there will be security guards wherever she goes, and I will personally handle Duke's supervision."

"You'll get no argument from me. Personally, I think that's a great idea. I'll help you with the interrogation of Duke, if you'd like."

"I'm thinking that might be a good idea, Frank, You can hold him while I, I show him who exactly he was dealing with. Though this might not occur in an interrogation room." Horatio said, venom in his voice. Frank personally liked the idea, and the two men set off, hell bent on finding Calleigh.

Just then, Horatio's cell phone rang. It was Ryan, and he said, "H, I've got something you're really gonna wanna see."

"What is it, Mr. Wolfe?"

"I've got the attack on tape, and I think I know where Duke went with Calleigh."

--

Did you like my little, teeny cliff-hanger there? I hope you did! Thanks for reading, and adios for now!!!


	16. The Couldn't Bear It

Chapter 16 is up!!! This took me a little longer to update, and I am so sorry! Thanks for sticking with me throughout this story, and I hope you'll like this chapter! ENJOY!!!

--

"On my way, Mr. Wolfe. You're at the crime lab, correct?"

"No, in the hospital surveillance room."

"Frank and I will meet you there." Horatio said and hung up. He strode out to his Hummer, followed closely by Frank. Horatio briefed him on what Ryan had said, and Frank followed him in his car while they sped to the hospital.

Once they got there, Frank went to Calleigh's room to see if Natalia was done processing, while Horatio started up to the surveillance room. As he started to walk down the hallway, he was hit with the reality that he might actually lose Calleigh. He ducked into an empty room, hot tears threatening to spill as he remembered the last time he had seen Calleigh alive.

"_You okay, Horatio?" Horatio spun around, his tortured blue eyes meeting the concerned green eyes of Calleigh Duquesne. He strode to her bedside, sitting down next to her and saying restrictedly,_

"_Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" She smiled and blinked once, swallowing._

"_I'm okay." She said, and he rolled his eyes, shoving his emotions back to make sure Calleigh was okay. "Is Duke…?" She asked tentatively, and the fire came back to Horatio's eyes as he said tensely,_

"_Yes, we have him in custody." She nodded, relief obvious on her face._

"_Good. Will I have to testify if there's a trial?" She asked, and Horatio squeezing her hand, saying,_

"_Probably, but we have enough evidence to lock him up for life. But if you do, we'll all be there for you."  
_

"_Including you?"_

"_Including me." He said with a half smile. Just then, a knock came at the door, and Horatio knew it was Jennifer. "Give me a second," He called, and the person went away. Calleigh looked questioningly at her, and he said, "We've divided up shifts to keep watch over you."  
_

"_Aw, how sweet!" She said, her southern accent coming out._ _He smiled, and impulsively kissed her forehead, murmuring,_

"_I'll be back, sweetheart. And then we have to talk." She nodded, a smile floating onto her face._

A smile worked it's way onto Horatio's face as he banished all thoughts of Calleigh not surviving, and walked back out into the hallway, his stride full of purpose as he made his way to the video surveillance room.

"What have you got, Mr. Wolfe?" He said as soon as he got there, and Ryan jumped up, pointing at the screen and saying,

"Duke's driving a black van, I followed him through the hospital and then out the back, and I caught him again on some cameras at the hospital's entrance. There was a logo on the van, and it was some fishery on the boardwalk next to the water."

"Which boardwalk?"

"The Marion."

"Call Frank, Mr. Wolfe, I'm on my way." Horatio said and darted out, heading to his Hummer. As he drove to the boardwalk, he spotted a black van with a fishery logo parked on the side of the road. He grabbed his gun and went to check it out, calling,

"Duke Mandrel, I've got a warrant for your arrest."

When there was no answer, he looked inside and saw that it was abandoned. He heard tires squealing and whipped around, seeing a small compact car speeding off, and he caught a glimpse of Calleigh's face in the rear window, so he didn't dare shoot at the car.

He dashed to his Hummer and got in, speeding after the car. He radioed Frank and told him where he was chasing Duke, and soon there were cars on the other end of the road, setting up a roadblock. Duke saw the roadblock and must've jerked the wheel, because the car went sliding towards the boardwalk. Horatio followed him, and he knew what was going to happen with horror striking his heart.

Duke's car seemed to slow down as it followed its crash course to the side of the boardwalk and went over. The gas line hit the guardrail, and the car blew up in mid-air and then landed on the ocean.

"No…" Horatio managed to whisper, knowing from his bomb squad training, and basic common sense, that no one could've survived that explosion.

He saw Frank, Alexx, Ryan, Natalia, Eric and Jen standing by the boardwalk, equal expressions of horror on their faces as they looked at the burning mess in the water. Horatio joined them, and turned his face to Alexx, a wordless plea on his face.

"No one could've survived that, Horatio." Alexx said softly, barely able to get the words out as tears constricted her throat. Jen started crying softly and Eric hugged her, almost crying himself as he couldn't stop staring at the inferno his partner had died in.

Natalia hugged Ryan, as he had a shocked expression on his face. Calleigh had been his mentor, and he respected the hell out of her, and Calleigh had been one of Natalia's closest friends. Horatio hugged Alexx, as she had started to cry silently.

Sometimes life just sucks.

Horatio pulled back from Alexx, who hugged the awkward Frank, who was in shock too. He knew that he had to call Calleigh's dad and let him know what had happened. But then he shut the phone, decided to test the DNA in the bodies in the car, if there were any, to make sure that one of them were Calleigh before telling her father.

A few hours later, the car was in the CSI garage and as everyone else looked on, Ryan and Eric extracted the bodies, and Horatio, Frank, Natalia and Jen carried them down with Alexx following them. Dental impressions were out of the question, as the impact with the water could've moved the teeth, making for a false identification.

Alexx found some skin cells left on the two dead bodies they found, and gave them to Valera, who processed them. When she was about to run them, Horatio walked into the lab and Valera knew, by the look on his face, that he was going to run them. She didn't question him, just walked out of the lab and stood by Eric and Jen.

Everyone was standing outside of the DNA lab, and soon the rest of the people that worked in the lab were standing there, watching Horatio run the DNA through the Miami-Dade PD DNA database. He watched the matches run by, and hoped that Calleigh wouldn't match.

He had already prepared himself for it to match, because he had seen Calleigh's face in the back of the window, and only a few seconds later did the car go over the edge and explode, and he hadn't seen anyone get out of the car.

Therefore, Calleigh, and Duke hopefully, had been in the car. Which meant that both of them were dead. Which, in turn, meant that everyone's life as they knew it was over.

Jen couldn't bear losing her sister.

Eric couldn't bear losing his partner.

Ryan couldn't bear losing his mentor.

Natalia couldn't bear losing her best friend.

Alexx couldn't bear losing her friend.

Frank couldn't bear losing his friend either.

The lab couldn't bear losing it's spirit.

Horatio couldn't bear losing the woman he loved.

Especially since he had never told her that he loved her.

The computer beeped, letting everyone know that it had found matches for both samples of DNA.

--

Well, did you like that cliff-hanger? Much better than some of my past ones, right? Well, I think only one more chapter left, maybe two, but that depends on what you think the outcome of the DNA test will be! Let me know what you think, and don't hate me for killing Calleigh! Thanks for reading, and I hope you liked it! (Even though Calleigh died.) Adios for now!


	17. 436243 Curry Street

17th chapter is up!!! Slight spoilers from "Smoke Gets In Your CSI's" but you'll only know the spoilers if you've seen the episode. More slight spoilers from that episode in the next chapter too, so you probably know where I'm gonna leave this chapter! ENJOY!!!

--

_The computer beeped, letting everyone know that it had found matches for both samples of DNA…_

--

Horatio took a deep breath and pulled up the DNA profile of the person who was supposed to be Duke, and it came up Detective John Hagen. Horatio looked at Alexx, whose shocked expression mirrored his. She had done the autopsy on John Hagen, he was definitely dead. Horatio turned back to the computer and pulled up the profile of the woman.

It wasn't in the system.

Horatio breathed a sigh of relief as he heard the rest of the crime lab rejoicing over the fact that Calleigh wasn't dead. But if it wasn't Calleigh, then who was it? Horatio ran the DNA through the other databases and discovered that it was Duke's wife, the one who had tried to buy Sophie with Duke. She had been arrested, but obviously had broken out, or Duke had broken her out earlier.

"Figures. Kills the wife to run off with Calleigh." Horatio muttered under his breath as he walked out of the DNA lab to see that only his team was left. "Eric, Jen, get a court order to exhume John's casket, see if his body is still in there. If it isn't, which I'm sure it isn't, process the entire casket. Mr. Wolfe, help Eric process when he gets it back, and have Miss Boa Vista help you both."

Alexx had already gone back to the morgue to finish the autopsies and Horatio finished with, "Frank, we're going to the crime scene. Miss Boa Vista, Mr. Wolfe, come with us. Take a separate Hummer so you can leave when Eric gets the casket back to the lab."

They went off in their separate directions, and while Horatio drove to the boardwalk where Duke's car had gone off into the ocean. "We're gonna find you, sweetheart. Hang in there." Horatio muttered as he climbed out of the Hummer and began helping Ryan and Natalia process. They found long, blonde hair caught on some bushes, and Horatio berated himself, saying,

"I should've noticed this. We wasted precious time that could've been spent looking for Calleigh."

--

Meanwhile, Duke had gotten out of the car by leaping out and landing in the bushes with Calleigh. He had killed his wife and dug Hagen's body out of his grave, simply because he wanted to mess with his Calleigh. It worked, too, because Calleigh was still silent, a haunted look in her eyes.

He didn't know what she looked like now, because he was eating his lunch. His Calleigh was upstairs in the hidden attic with a sandwich. He had to wait until the search died down around his area before sneaking off to Cuba with his soon-to-be wife.

Yes, he had thought it out, and decided that the best way to keep Calleigh with him would be to marry her. Of course, being in a country where you couldn't extradite from helped enormously, which was where he was headed.

But for now, all he had to do was wait. By putting Hagen's body into the casket would send Caine's team on a wild goose chase. But the only reason he knew about Hagen was by chance when he overheard his Calleigh on the phone before he had taken her.

She was talking to some woman named Alexx, and they were discussing how Calleigh always chose bad men. Duke remembered this specifically because he remembered thinking, _"Well, now she's got a good man. Or, she will soon enough! She'll have me!"_

Well, now he had her, and she had him. And that wasn't ever going to change, not while he was still on this earth.

--

Eric and Jen had the coffin exhumed and carted it back to the lab, and as there weren't any family members left, they could open the coffin without any problems.

Eric hefted it open as Jen called Ryan and Natalia to let them know that the coffin was at the lab. Eric opened the lid and called to Jen,

"Yeah, tell them that there's no body, so they can tell H."

"Okay!" She called, and said into her phone, "And Ryan, tell Horatio that there isn't a body in the coffin."

"Gladly." Ryan said, and then hung up. Jen stood in the doorway, watching Eric scan through the coffin for anything that could be considered evidence. He spotted some sort of sawdust in the corner and took a sample, handing it to Jen and saying,

"Take this to Valera, she'll know what to do with it."

"Why DNA lab?" Jen asked curiously, and Eric said,

"Because every tree has it's own DNA. She might be able to tell us exactly where this tree comes from."

"Wow. That's cool." Jen said in amazement as she walked to Valera's lab. Eric watched her go and chuckled, and then got back to work.

A few minutes later, Natalia and Ryan showed up to help process.

--

Meanwhile, at the crime scene, Horatio finishes up and puts everything back in the Hummer. Frank goes back to the station to see if the search or the APB on either Calleigh or Duke had turned up anything. As usually, it hadn't, so Frank knew they had to rely on the evidence they got from the crime scene, which wasn't much, and the coffin to find out where Calleigh was.

Horatio walked into Valera's lab just as she got a hit on the wood Jen brought her. "Valera." Horatio said quietly to announce his presence.

"The sawdust is from a really rare tree, Lieutenant. It's an exotic form of the cherry oak, and it's only sold to the rich people, because it costs about 100 bucks for just one board. And there's only two people that have bought it in Miami and already have it."

"Addresses?"

Valera handed him two pieces of paper and he nodded, saying, "Thank you. Good work." He walked out, hearing Valera's voice saying,

"Bring her back, Lieutenant."

"I will." He rumbled as Eric, Ryan, Natalia and Jen caught up with him. He handed one piece of paper to Ryan, saying,

"You and Natalia go here. I'll follow you." He handed the other paper to Eric, saying, "You and Jen go here. Frank'll follow you."

"Where's here?" Eric asked, and as Horatio walked down the hall, he called,

"One of those houses is where Duke is keeping Calleigh."

That spurred the rest of them to literally run down to the Hummers and speed off down the streets of Miami. Eric and Jen made it to the house before Frank, but waited for him. Once he got there, along with a few uniforms, they surrounded the front and back doors, and then Eric kicked the door open.

They swarmed the house, finding some wood on the ground and some very startled floor replacers, but other than that, no sign of Calleigh or Duke.

Eric pulled out his cell and called Horatio. "Yeah, Horatio." Horatio's voice said.

"H, it's Eric. We searched the house, Calleigh isn't here."

"Go to the other address and join us, we just got here. It's 436243 Curry Street."

"436243 Curry Street?" Eric asked as Jen wrote it down.

"Yeah."

"All right. We're on our way." Eric said and hung up. He, Frank and Jen got in their cars and quickly drove to the other house.

Meanwhile, after Horatio got Eric's phone call, he, Ryan, Natalia and a few uniforms stood at the front door, and then Natalia and the uniforms went around back. Ryan broke the door down and he and Horatio carefully stalked in, going gun first.

They heard shots ring out and Duke shouted, "If you want her, you'll have to have her in a body bag! If I can't have her, no one will!"

Ryan and Horatio ducked out of the line of fire, as they saw Duke in the hallway. Horatio peeked out and saw Duke shooting at the ceiling, and knew instantly that there was an attic up there. But he didn't see any stairs.

Horatio took a deep breath and quickly leaned out, shooting two times and putting both bullets in Duke's leg. Duke fell to the ground and Ryan kicked his gun away from him as Natalia and the uniforms came in, arresting Duke and radioing for an ambulance.

The uniforms walked out with Duke while Horatio, Natalia and Ryan looked for the entrance to the attic. Horatio suddenly heard the microwave cooking something, and he looked inside the kitchen to see a can in the microwave.

"Ryan, Natalia, run." He called in a deadly voice that left no question as to what to do. He desperately searched for the attic door as the microwave exploded and shoved him to the ground, hitting his head.

"H!" Ryan shouted as he picked his way back in as the fire started.

They both froze as a scream echoed through the house. A feminine scream, the scream of Calleigh Duquesne.

--

Well, I hope you liked that cliff-hanger! See, I couldn't really kill Calleigh, even if I tried! Well, actually I do try, but it just never works out. Good for you as readers, huh? Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you liked this chapter! Adios for now!!!


	18. A Little White Lie

18th chapter is up!!! Like I said, slight spoilers for the "Smoke Gets In Your CSI's" episode, but only if you've watched it will you know the spoilers! ENJOY!!!

--

"It's coming from upstairs!" Ryan shouted, coughing through the smoke. Horatio looked around and finally saw a rope dangling down that had been shaken down in the explosion.

Horatio yanked on the rope and a ladder fell down. Horatio began climbing it, sayin to Ryan, "Stay down here and make sure the ladder doesn't come back up!" Ryan nodded as Horatio climbed the stairs and looked around.

There lay Calleigh, unconscious and barely breathing. He scrambled over to her, laying a trembling hand on her bruised cheek and he yelled, his voice cracking from the smoke as the smoke rose to the attic,

"I found Calleigh, Ryan! Get some paramedics, she's barely breathing!" He heard Ryan's voice shouting dimly,

"I need some medics in here, stat!"

Horatio picked Calleigh up and carefully pulled her face to his chest so she wouldn't breathe in any more smoke. He carefully walked down the stairs and followed Ryan out the back door, the closest door.

Natalia tried to get Horatio to let Calleigh go to get medical attention, but Horatio stubbornly refused as he laid Calleigh on the grass and started chest compressions, as she had stopped breathing.

"Breathe, sweetheart, breathe!" He muttered as he coughed a few times himself. A few medics came up and took Calleigh, putting her in a stretcher. Horatio could only watch as Jen hopped in the ambulance.

"Lieutenant, you need medical attention." A kind voice said, and Horatio looked in the face of a paramedic.

"I'm fine, thank you."

"But Lieutenant, you're head is bleeding and you're inhaled smoke. We need…"

"What you need to do is tend to Ryan Wolfe over there, and what I need to do is interrogate that man over there." Horatio said, trying to be as patient as possible. He walked over to where Duke was sitting in the patrol car with Frank in the front seat. Frank refused to let Duke get away this time.

"You bastard." Horatio muttered as soon as he was standing by Duke.

"Sorry 'bout your CSI, Caine."

"She's not dead." Horatio said, poison in every word he spat out.

"Well, not yet. You and I both know the chances of her surviving are, well, slim." Duke said, a grin on his face. Horatio fought back the urge to punch him and he clenched his jaw and his fists.

"Get him outta here, Frank."

"My pleasure, Horatio." Frank growled as two uniforms sat on both sides of Duke and another uniform sat in the passenger seat. Horatio watched as the car drove away, and then strode to his own car.

"H!" Eric called, and Horatio turned around to face him.

"Yes, Eric?" Horatio said, itching to get to the hospital where Alexx already was and get an update on Calleigh's condition.

"I know you're going to the hospital. Let me drive you, you're in no condition to drive." As Horatio opened his mouth to protest, Eric added, "Calleigh would kill you if you got into a car accident and had to have rooms next door to each other."

"Yes she would. All right, Eric, and thank you."

"No problem, H. You'd do the same for me." Eric said as the two men got in the car. As Eric drove, he thought about Jen.

"What's on your mind, Eric?" Horatio asked, needing some sort of conversation to get the slight fuzziness out of his head.

"Jen." Eric said with a sigh, and Horatio smiled slightly, figuring that it had to be a woman on Eric's mind.

"What about her?"

"I'm thinking about asking her to marry me." Eric said suddenly, and Horatio was taken aback for a moment.

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"Then, good luck." Horatio said warmly as they pulled up at the hospital.

"Thanks, H. That means a lot, coming from you." Eric said, and the two men walked into the hospital.

"Calleigh Duquesne's floor, please." Horatio asked the nurse at the desk, as he knew she was probably in surgery and wouldn't have a room yet.

"Floor 4, and her room will be 424."

"Thank you." Horatio said, and Eric nodded his thanks and the nurse winked at him. Out of nowhere, Jen walked up to him and grabbed his hand, saying,

"It's horrible, Eric, they almost lost her two times! I was freaking out!"

"Hey, hey, it's okay now, baby, it's okay," Eric soothed, pulling her into his arms. She hugged him tightly and pressed her lips to his as the nurse pointedly looked the other way. Jen kept Eric's hand in hers as they made their way to the elevator, where Horatio was holding the door for them.

"Thanks." Jen said to him and he nodded as they rode the elevator up. When they got to the fourth floor, they emerged from the elevator and walked to the desk.

"Do you know how Calleigh Duquesne is doing?" Horatio asked, showing the nurse his badge.

"All I know right now is that she's in surgery, and that Dr. Alexx Woods has been granted permission to observe."

"All right. Thank you." Horatio said, slightly relieved that Alexx would be watching over Calleigh. His Calleigh. The three sat down and Eric started talking to Jen, neither of them noticing Horatio shivering, thinking of that SOB Duke calling Calleigh the same thing he had just called her. His Calleigh. Calleigh didn't belong to Duke, she didn't belong to anyone. She belonged to her own person, but she owned Horatio's heart, and he had some hope that he had her love.

When Calleigh made it out of surgery and was awake, Horatio was going to throw caution to the wind, actually just throw it out the window and tell Calleigh how he felt. It was either then, or never, because since this whole ordeal, he realized that he could lose her at any moment. That was terrifying, but it had been a wakeup call.

A few hours passed, and Horatio barely noticed Ryan and Natalia coming in, having processed the house already. Frank walked in too, sitting next to Horatio but, knowing his friend, didn't say a word.

Suddenly, the doors to the operating room opened and Alexx walked out without her green scrubs. Horatio locked eyes with her and stood up, walking over to her. "Alexx." He said quietly, and she sighed, and said,

"The doctors did all that they can. She's on a ventilator that's basically doing all her breathing for her."

"What level, Alexx?" He asked urgently and she immediately replied,

"Twelve." He froze, knowing that wasn't good at all.

"What are her chances?"

"I'd say 50/50, if she fights. She has to fight now, Horatio, it's all up to her." Alexx said softly, laying a hand on her friend's shoulder and then walking to the others to tell them the news. Horatio pulled out his cell phone and dialed the chief's number, requesting a security guard to be placed at Calleigh's rooms door, so that they can insure that what happened before wouldn't happen again.

The chief agreed immediately and said that he would see to it. Horatio sighed and was torn between going to see Calleigh and going to interrogate the bastard that had put her there. In the end, the burning desire to interrogate Duke won, as he knew he couldn't see Calleigh yet anyways.

He walked out and drove to the police station, where they were holding Duke in a maximum security holding cell, where there were two cops at the entrance, watching the only prisoner in there, which happened to be Duke.

Horatio had him brought into an interrogation room, and when he walked into the room, Duke looked up at him with an evil smile.

"She dead yet?" Horatio barely resisted the urge to smack him as he slammed his hands on the table and said,

"Nope. She's gonna live, Duke."

--

Wow, not much of a cliff-hanger! I must be getting soft or something, what do you think? A few more twisted scenes from "Smoke Gets In Your CSI's" in the next chapter, same rule applies like this chapter and the one before this! Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you liked it! Adios for now!!!


	19. NonMutual Affection

19th chapter is up!!! Like I said, a few more twisted scenes from "Smoke Gets In Your CSI's" but not many, and this is the last chapter for that episode! And did I mention that this is the second to last chapter? Only one more chapter to go after this! ENJOY!!!

--

"You're lying." Duke said, narrowing his eyes.

"Nope. She recovering as we speak. In fact, when she gets released, I'll bring her over here to see you, just to make you believe it." Horatio said, as that was what he was praying would happen.

"But, that's not possible. She's mine, she can't be anyone else's…" Duke muttered under his breath, and Horatio let a cold smile cross his face as he said,

"Too bad. I guess someone else will be her love now, Duke."

"NO!" Duke roared, standing up and wrenching one of his hands free, punching Horatio in the jaw. A few officers rushed in and dragged a hysterical Duke back to his cell, adding assaulting an officer to the long list of charges he had against him.

An officer brought Horatio a bag of ice for his jaw as he left and went back to the hospital, hoping to get good news this time.

When he got to the fourth floor, he saw Ryan, Natalia, Eric, Jen, Frank and Alexx getting up to leave. Alexx quickly walked over to Horatio and said, "We're taking back up our shifts that we used before. I figured you'd want to take the first one."

"You figured right, Alexx. Thank you." Horatio said quietly, looking at her straight in the eyes. Her eyes narrowed as she said,

"What happened to your jaw?" Her hand gently touched his jaw and he flinched a little, saying,

"Nothing. I went to interrogate Duke, told him that Calleigh would live."

"And?" Alexx asked, knowing it was a lie.

"He freaked out, managed to punch me. Not a big deal, Alexx."

"Do you have ice?" She asked, and he held up the bag. She nodded approvingly and he said,

"Thank you for the concern, though."

"You're welcome." She said warmly, placing a hand on his shoulder as she walked out, followed by everyone else. Horatio sat in a chair, taking the ice bag out and putting it back on his slightly throbbing jaw.

--

A few days passed, with everyone taking their shifts. Horatio was just starting his shift on the third day, and Alexx had just finished hers. He stepped off the elevator and Alexx strode out of Calleigh's room, gesturing frantically for Horatio.

He quickened his pace and got to Alexx quickly. "What is it, Alexx?"

"At the start of my shift, Calleigh woke up and started breathing on her own," Alexx said with a big smile, and Horatio was relieved and said,

"Is the tube out?"

"Yeah, they just took it out. The first word out of her mouth was "Horatio"," Alexx said with a sly grin, and Horatio raised an eyebrow at her before saying,

"Thanks, Alexx."

"Sure." She said warmly, and then walked down the hall going home to her husband and kids.

Horatio walked into Calleigh's room, and saw that she was awake, sitting up and staring out the window. He stopped and watched her for a few glorious moments, thankful for the fact that her chest was rising and falling with every breath that she took, as it meant she was alive.

"Calleigh." He said quietly, and she whipped her head around.

"Horatio!" She exclaimed, and when she tried to stand up but started coughing he put his hand on her shoulder, gently applying pressure until she was lying down. She stopped coughing and sighed.

"You okay?" He asked quietly, and she nodded with a smile, saying,

"I've been better, but yeah, I'm fine."

"You scared the hell out of us, Calleigh." He said, sitting down next to her. She shrugged, saying,

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that. Alexx told me about the car that exploded and you guys thought I was in the car." He nodded, his throat constricting as he thought about how he thought he had lost her. Horatio was brought out of his reverie as Calleigh said,

"What happened to your jaw, Horatio?"

"Nothing." Horatio said, and Calleigh raised her eyebrows. He sighed, and told her, "Duke got a swing at me when I was interrogating him."

"I'm gonna kill that jerk!" Calleigh exclaimed, reaching out and gently touching the faint bruise. He half smiled and said,

"You're going to kill him for hitting me? I'm going to kill him for almost murdering you, more than once." His voice broke at the end, and Calleigh's warm hands encased his hands, saying,

"I'm still here, Horatio. So I don't want you in jail for murder." He nodded and suddenly his emotions became too much for him. He stood up, her hands sliding off of his as he walked over to the window.

Calleigh was silent, trying to swallow through her inflamed throat. "I was terrified." Horatio's soft voice said, breaking the silence.

"Of what?" Calleigh asked, and Horatio replied, turning around,

"Of losing you." She could see the tears in his eyes, and she tried to joke, saying,

"Oh, I'm sure there're other ballistic experts out there. I'm easily replaceable."

"Not talking about that. You're irreplaceable to me, Calleigh." He said, fire burning in his voice.

"You mean as a friend, right? Like Alexx?" She teased, desperately trying to lighten the mood in the room before she started crying from the emotional turmoil she was feeling. Did Horatio basically just tell her that he couldn't live without her? Was it even possible he loved her like she loved him? It wasn't, it just couldn't be possible.

"No." He said shortly, desperate to make her understand. He saw the angst on her face and assumed he was the cause of it. "I, I'm sorry, Calleigh. I don't know what I was talking about."

And with that, he walked out; hiding the few tears the slipped down his cheeks. Since Calleigh was awake, there was no need for the shifts anymore, so he walked out, fighting back emotions. He would go back the next day, and apologize to Calleigh for putting her in such a position. It was clear to him that his feelings for her weren't mutual, so he wasn't bringing them back up again.

As he walked onto the sidewalk, he was Alexx waiting. He was surprised, and walked up to her. "Alexx."

"Horatio. I was wondering if you wanted to come over for dinner tonight? It's family night, and well, you are family."

"I'll be there." He promised, touched that she felt he was a part of her family. He pulled her into a hug and then they broke apart, going in separate directions.

--

That night, Horatio showed up at Alexx's house dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, like she had told him over the phone. He brought a bottle of wine for the adults to share after the kids went to bed.

Alexx's husband John opened the door and ushered Horatio in after shaking his hand. Alexx's kids Michael and Kelly were waiting for him and he hugged them both after seeing how tall they had gotten.

"Makes you feel old, doesn't it?" Alexx's voice said, and she hugged Horatio as he said,

"Just a little." Everyone laughed as they started talking. Suddenly, Alexx took a sniff of the air and dashed back into the kitchen.

"Oh no!" Alexx exclaimed and Horatio could've sworn he heard her mutter "damn" under her breath.

"What happened, honey?" John asked as he walked into the kitchen, and then started laughing. Horatio followed him and saw that their dinner of chicken, baked potatoes, and green beans was ruined, burnt in the oven. He couldn't help himself and he started to chuckle himself, as Michael and Kelly burst out laughing.

Alexx glared at them all, and then started laughing herself. "Why don't you get some pizza, hon?" Alexx said to John, and he nodded, while Michael and Kelly whooped.

"Be right back." John said, kissing Alexx and walking out to pick up some pizza. He got a call from Alexx as he drove, and it was an odd one, as Alexx only told him to do one thing after getting the pizza, and that was to drive by the hospital.

--

Yet another none cliff-hanger, I really, really must be getting soft! Well, I hoped you liked this chapter, even with it's non cliff-hanger! Thanks so much for reading, and adios for now!!!


	20. Falling But Being Caught

20th and final chapter is up!!! This has no spoilers for anything, whatsoever, so ENJOY!!! Oh, and I changed Alexx's husband and kids names in here, but not in the last chapter, because I'd rather get this one up first, then go back and fix the other one. Now you can ENJOY!!!

--

"You want me to do what?" Henry asked Alexx incredulously, and Alexx said hurriedly,

"Go by the hospital. Please, hon, do it for me. I can't talk long, here comes Horatio." Alexx hung up with a click and Henry said with a grin into the dial tone,

"Sure, Alexx, no problem. Love you too sweetie, bye." He snapped the phone shut and sighed, switching directions to go to the hospital. When he pulled up at the entrance, a familiar blonde was sitting in a wheelchair, arguing good-naturedly with a nurse. Henry hopped out of the car and jogged over to the blonde, who he knew as Calleigh Duquesne, and her trademark bombshell smile appeared on her face.

"Alexx got you to come get me, didn't she?" She asked as she stood up and pulled Henry into a hug.

"Of course. You got discharged already?"

"Uh huh," She said with a grin, easing back and added, "For the last few days, I built up my strength by walking around my room and sometimes sneaking out so when I argued to be discharged, they couldn't argue."

The nurse nodded with a smile and said her goodbyes as she took the wheelchair back into the hospital. Calleigh took Henry's arm and he helped her into the passenger seat. They picked up the pizzas and then went back to Henry and Alexx's house.

Henry went to put the pizzas in the house and then hurry up and help Calleigh up the stairs that led to their house, but by the time he got back to Calleigh, she was already at the door and hugging Brian and Jaime.

"You okay, Calleigh?" Brian asked in concern, and Jaime looked at her in concern too.

"I'm fine," Calleigh said with a smile, adding, "Thanks for the concern though you two." They nodded as Alexx and Horatio heard someone else come in. Horatio was a little confused, but Alexx's smile widened as she said,

"Oh, Henry must've picked up a straggler…" Then her attention got diverted to something standing behind Horatio, and she said, "Hey! Long time no see!"

"Yeah. Didn't I see you today?" A southern voice teased, and Horatio turned around quickly in his seat to see a pale but smiling Calleigh Duquesne. Her smile faltered a bit when her eyes locked with Horatio's, but he quickly smiled back and stood up, pulling her carefully into a hug.

"I'm sorry, Cal." He said quietly, and she replied just as soft

"No worries." They broke apart as Jaime and Brian shouted,

"Pizza time!"

Alexx, Calleigh and Horatio walked into the dining room where the pizza was all set up. An hour of pizza eating and conversation between everyone except between Horatio and Calleigh, who talked to each other but not in a separate conversation, and then it crept closer to 8 o'clock, and Calleigh kept glancing at the clock.

"Somewhere to be, Calleigh?" Alexx teased, and Calleigh smiled slightly before saying,

"Actually, yeah, because Miami-Dade lockup doesn't accept visitors past 9." Everyone fell silent, and Henry said incredulously,

"You're going to see the bas…" He trailed off as Alexx shot him a pointed look and he hastily revised, "You're going to see the jerk that did this to you?"

"Yes, I am. He wanted me to die, I want to prove to him that I'm not dead, and that he will never have me again." Calleigh said firmly, and hesitatingly looked at Horatio. "Would you…" She started to ask quietly, and he said immediately,

"Absolutely." She was shocked, but recovered and smiled at him.

"Go on then, get outta here. Slap him for me, would you Cal?" Alexx said with a cold look as she thought of the jerk that hurt Calleigh. She couldn't help but hope that someday she would see the jerk on her table.

"Sure." Calleigh said as she hugged everyone, as did Horatio. As they left, Horatio's hand protectively hovered over her lower back, and Alexx looked at the pair, hoping they would get their act together, soon.

Calleigh got into Horatio's Hummer and then he got in the driver's seat. The ride to the lockup was silent, until Calleigh spoke up, "Did he confess?"

"Every single detail." Horatio said through clenched teeth, thinking of what Duke said he did to Calleigh. His hands gripped the steering wheel really tightly, and then he felt a soft and warm hand pull one of his hands off the wheel. He looked down and over at Calleigh and saw her looking at him with a soft smile. He managed to smile back and cooled his anger down.

They got to the lockup just in time and were let back to see Duke. When the guards brought Duke into the room, he saw Calleigh and his eyes bugged out. "Hello Duke." Calleigh said coldly, and Duke trembled, saying,

"You bitch! You're supposed to be dead!"

"What did I tell you?" Horatio said to the other man, and Duke fought his handcuffs, yelling,

"Just you wait, I'll get out one day, and I'll kill you! You hear me? I'll kill you! Bitch!" Duke snarled at Calleigh, and Horatio saw a sliver of fear in her eyes. Then she slammed her hands down on the table, shoved her face close to Duke's and said in a dangerous whisper,

"You won't get the chance. Bastard."

She pulled back as he tried to grab her but his hands were handcuffed to the table. "Get this piece of trash out of my sight." She said firmly as the guards took him back, shaking and screaming in rage.

"You okay?" Horatio asked Calleigh softly, and she shook her head slightly, then striding out of the lockup, getting out into the parking lot and taking a few deep breaths. She felt hands on her shoulders and she said,

"Now I'm okay."

"All right. Do you want me to take you home?" Horatio said softly, and she nodded, saying,

"Please."

They got back into the Hummer and the drive to Calleigh's condo was as silent as the drive to the lockup, only neither of them said anything this time. When they got to Calleigh's condo, Horatio walked Calleigh to her door. When he was about to say goodnight, she asked softly,

"Do you think he'll ever get out?"

"Hopefully not." Horatio said, wishing he could promise her that Duke would never get out, but that wasn't a promise he could personally keep.

"I'm scared of what he would do if he did get out." Calleigh whispered, and Horatio quickly opened her door and pulled them both inside, shutting the door and flipping the lights on. He faced Calleigh and took her hands, saying firmly,

"If he does get out, he will get nowhere near you. I promise." She nodded, tears evident in her eyes and he pulled her into his arms, murmuring, "It's okay, sweetheart, let go. I'll catch you, I promise."

With that, Calleigh's slim frame started wracking with sobs as she buried her face in Horatio's shoulder. Her legs started shaking so Horatio pulled her up into his arms and carefully carried her to her couch, where he sat down, Calleigh still cradled in his arms.

"You'll be okay, sweetheart, I promise, he'll never hurt you again." His voice cracked a little when he said, "I'll never hurt you again."

"You never hurt me, Horatio." Calleigh said softly, and Horatio let her sit next to him instead of on him.

"At the hospital room. I could see it, I hurt you."

"No you didn't. I just, I didn't think you could care about me like I care about you." She said hesitantly, and he looked at her strangely.

"What I was trying to say in the hospital was that I can't live without you, and I almost lost you twice. That made me realize that life is so short and precious, and I didn't want another day to go by before I told you that I love you." He said softly, cupping her face in his hands.

Calleigh opened her mouth to say something, but then changed her mind and said softly, "I love you too, Horatio." Her hands covered his as their lips met softly.

"I should go." Horatio said as they broke the kiss.

"Please don't," Calleigh nearly begged, adding, "I just need to feel safe. I feel safe in your arms. Hell, I feel safe in your mere presence."

Horatio smiled and shook his head, scooping her up in his arms and carrying her up to her bedroom where she pulled him close and they both drifted off, wrapped in each others arms.

--

Thank you to everyone who stuck with this story! Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed my story! I'm really glad so many people liked this story. And I'll go back and repost the 19th chapter with the right names in it, soon I promise! Adios mi amigos! (Bye my friends!)


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